207 12 3MB
English Pages 542 Year 2020
Weirong Chen A Grammar of Southern Min
Sinitic Languages of China
Typological Descriptions Edited by Hilary Chappell
Volume 3
Weirong Chen
A Grammar of Southern Min The Hui’an Dialect
ISBN 978-1-5015-1745-7 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-1-5015-1186-8 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-1-5015-1150-9 ISSN 2365-8398 Library of Congress Control Number: 2019948127 Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2020 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Inc., Boston/Berlin Cover image: Wang Jian Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck www.degruyter.com
Preface In the second volume to appear in this new series on Sinitic languages of China, Weirong Chen brings to our attention, for the first time, an exceptionally detailed grammar of one of the main varieties of Southern Min, the Hui’an dialect. The heartland of the Min dialect group, to which Hui’an belongs, is the coastal province of Fujian in southeastern China. A branch of Sinitic which counts over 50 million speakers yet represents just 4% of the Han Chinese population, it is well- known for its heterogeneous nature, not to mention for its retention of various Archaic Chinese features. Southern Min, is in fact, the largest and most widely distributed subgroup of dialects within Min. It extends south into Guangdong and Hainan, and also over the straits to Taiwan. Furthermore, due to a centuries-long diaspora, large concentrations of Southern Min speakers are to be found in Southeast Asia, for example, in Singapore where more than half of the Chinese population has a Min dialect such as Hokkien 福建话, Teochew 潮州 话, or Hainanese 海南话, as their heritage language. Communities are also to be found in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. Therefore, a comprehensive grammar of Southern Min is more than timely. After obtaining her PhD at the University of Hong Kong, Weirong Chen was invited to take up a position as a postdoctoral researcher on the ERC SINOTYPE team in Paris from 2011 to 2013. During this period, she began work on the present volume on Hui’an Southern Min, impressive in its novel and original approach to a large array of topics that cover all the major aspects of its grammar.
Sinitic languages of China: Typological descriptions is a new series specializing in the description of the grammar of Sinitic languages, ‘Sinitic’ being the technical term for the Chinese branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. As such, it includes well-known examples such as Cantonese 广东话, Hokkien 闽南话, Shanghainese 上海话 and Hakka 客家话, lesser-known ones such as Hunanese Xiang 湘语 or the Jin languages of Shanxi 晋语, and, importantly, the national language of China, Pŭtōnghuà 普通话, known as Standard Chinese or Mandarin in English. Even Mandarin comes in many non-standard forms including Sichuanese in the southwest, or the unusual varieties spoken in Gansu and Qinghai in northwestern China and the Central Plains region, to name but a few. The primary goal of this series is to promote scientific knowledge of Chinese languages and their typological characteristics through the publication of high calibre linguistic research, based on empirical fieldwork, close analysis of the data and solid theoretical interpretations. The grammatical descriptions, written https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-202
vi | Preface
in a functionalist framework, are illustrated by linguistic examples presented in a ‘value-added’ four-line format that includes romanization, glossing, the idiomatic English translation, and also the Chinese characters to cater to historical and comparative interests, as well as our sinophone readers. The specific objective is to reveal the great structural diversity found in Sinitic languages and to dispel many recurrent linguistic myths about Chinese. The authors involved in this series are all highly trained fieldwork linguists with a background in both typology and Chinese linguistics. The series thus aims to reach an international readership for the first time, given that most literature available on Chinese languages other than Mandarin, up until now, has been mainly written in the medium of (Standard Written) Chinese. The large-scale research project, The hybrid syntactic typology of Sinitic languages (SINOTYPE), provided the initial impetus behind this series. SINOTYPE benefitted from funding in the form of an Advanced Grant (No. 230388) awarded by the European Research Council (ERC) for the period 2009 – 2013 which included a generous publication subsidy for this series. The host institute, the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), graciously provided managerial support and accounting resources, not to mention the spacious premises for the SINOTYPE research centre in inner-city Paris for the entire period of the project. We take this opportunity to express our many thanks to both the ERC and the EHESS.
The other volumes planned for this series are: Volume 2: A Grammar of Nanning Pinghua, by Hilário de Sousa Volume 4: A Grammar of Central Plains Mandarin, by Yujie Chen Volume 5: A Grammar of Shaowu, by Sing Sing Ngai Volume 6: A Reference Grammar of Jixi Hui, by Wang Jian Volume 7: A Grammar of Waxiang, by Hilary Chappell
H.M. Chappell Series Editor Paris, 2020
List of abbreviations The abbreviations for grammatical glosses basically follow the Leipzig Glossing Rules. A square symbol is used in place of a Chinese character when neither the etymology is clear nor a Mandarin equivalent can be found. Tones are not given when a morpheme is realized with different tones when used with different morphemes.
口
Symbol for unidentifiable characters
1SG
First person singular
2SG
Second person singular
3SG
Third person singular
1PL
First person plural
2PL
Second person plural
3PL
Third person plural
ADJ
Adjective
ADV
Adverb
AUX
Auxiliary verb
BEN
Benefactive marker
C
Complement
CL
Classifier
CM
Complement marker
COM
Comparee
COMP
Complementizer
COMT
Comitative marker
COP
Copula
DELIM
Delimitative aspect
DEM
Demonstrative
DIM
Diminutive
DIR
Directional
DM
Discourse marker
DMC
Dependent-marker of comparison
DO
Direct object
viii | List of abbreviations
DUR
Durative aspect
EVC
Extent verbal complement
EXP
Experiential aspect
FOC
Focus
FUT
Future
GEN
Genitive marker
HAB
Habitual aspect
HMC
Head-marker of comparison
INDEF
Indefinite
IO
Indirect object
LOC
Locative
MAL
Malefactive marker
MOD
Modifying marker
MW
Measure word
NEG
Negative marker
NM
Noun marker
NMLZ
Nominalizer
NOM
Nominative
N
Noun
NP
Noun phrase
NUM
Numeral
O
Object
OM
Object marker
PASS
Passive marker
PFV
Perfective aspect
PHA
Phase
PL
Plural
PN
Place name/Person name
POSS
Possessive
PP
Prepositional phrase
PRED
Predicate
PREF
Prefix
List of abbreviations | ix
PRO
Pronoun
PROG
Progressive
PRT
Particle
PVC
Phase verbal complement
QW
Question word
RC
Relative clause
RECP
Reciprocal
RES
Resultative
RM
Relativization marker
RP
Relative pronoun
RVC
Resultative verbal complement
S
Subject/Sentence
SFP
Sentence-final particle
STA
Standard of comparison
TENT
Tentative aspect
TM
Topic marker
V
Verb
VP
Verb phrase
Content Preface | v List of abbreviations | vii 1 1.1 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5
Introduction | 1 The Hui’an dialect and its classification | 1 Southern Min | 1 Hui’an | 2 Characteristics of the Hui’an dialect | 2 Previous studies on Southern Min | 5 Data collection | 6 Presentation of examples in this reference grammar | 8 Language usage in Hui’an | 9
2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.4.1 2.4.2 2.4.3 2.4.4 2.5 2.6
Phonology | 10 Introduction | 10 Initials | 10 Finals | 12 Tone | 14 Citation tones | 14 Tone sandhi | 15 Tonemic representation of citation and sandhi tones | 17 Neutral tone and stress | 17 Syllable fusion | 19 Summary | 20
Part I Nominal structure 3 Affixation and compounding | 25 3.1 Introduction | 25 3.2 Affixation | 25 3.2.1 Prefixes | 25 3.2.1.1 a-阿 in kinship terms and names | 25 3.2.1.2 Prefix lau-老 | 28 3.2.1.3 Other prefixes | 28 3.2.2 Suffixes | 29
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3.2.2.1 3.2.2.2 3.2.2.3 3.2.2.4 3.2.2.5 3.2.2.6 3.2.2.7 3.2.2.8 3.2.2.9 3.3 3.3.1 3.3.2 3.3.3 3.4
Diminutive suffix a3 仔 | 29 Diminutive suffix a0 仔 | 32 Suffix sai1 師 < ‘master’ | 33 Suffix sen1 仙 < ‘celestial being, immortal’ | 33 Suffix sen2 神 < ‘god, deity’ | 33 Suffix tsin1 精 < ‘spirit, demon’ | 34 Suffix tsiau3 鳥 < ‘bird’ | 34 Suffix kui3 鬼 < ‘ghost’ | 34 Suffix thau 頭 < ‘head’ | 34 Compounding | 35 Coordinate | 35 Modifier-head/head-modifier | 36 Subject-predicate | 37 Summary | 37
4 Pronouns | 38 4.1 Introduction | 38 4.2 Personal pronouns | 38 4.2.1 Singular personal pronouns | 39 4.2.1.1 Syntactic distributions | 39 4.2.1.2 Referential functions | 43 4.2.2 Plural personal pronouns | 45 4.3 Reflexive pronouns | 49 4.4 Reciprocal pronouns | 52 4.5 The pronouns laŋ4 ‘other’ and pat8-4laŋ2 ‘other people’ | 52 4.6 Summary | 56 5 5.1 5.2 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.3 5.2.4 5.2.5 5.2.6 5.2.7 5.3
Nominal demonstratives | 57 Introduction | 57 Syntactic functions and semantic features | 62 Basic adnominal demonstratives: tsit7 即/hit7 迄 | 62 Singular demonstratives: tsat8/hat8 | 71 Plural demonstratives: tsuai2 撮/huai2 懷 | 75 Generic demonstratives: tse2/hǝ2 | 80 Generic demonstratives: tsiɔŋ3-2e2 種其/hiɔŋ3-2e2 向其 | 84 Interim summary | 85 Further discussion on the semantic features of Hui’an demonstratives | 88 The pragmatic uses of Hui’an demonstratives | 89
Content | xiii
5.3.1 5.3.2 5.4
Language-external functions | 89 Language-internal functions | 93 Summary | 96
6 6.1 6.2 6.2.1 6.2.2 6.2.3 6.3 6.4
Numerals and quantifiers | 99 Introduction | 99 Numerals | 99 Cardinal numbers | 99 Ordinal numbers | 104 Approximate numbers | 108 Quantifiers | 109 Summary | 113
7 7.1 7.2 7.2.1 7.2.2 7.2.3 7.2.4 7.2.5 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6
Classifiers | 115 Introduction | 115 Syntactic distributions | 115 Numeral + classifier | 115 Quantifier + classifier | 119 Demonstratives tsit7/hit7+ classifier | 121 Classifier + noun | 122 Adjective + classifier | 123 Semantic properties | 127 Referential functions | 136 Sources and extensions | 139 Summary | 140
8 8.1 8.2 8.2.1
Possessive constructions | 141 Introduction | 141 Attributive possessive constructions | 144 The zero-marked possessive construction: possessor + ∅ + possessee | 145 8.2.1.1 Pronoun possessor + ∅ + possessee | 145 8.2.1.1.1 Possessee=kinship terms | 145 8.2.1.1.2 Possessee=social relations or location | 148 8.2.1.1.3 Possessee=spatial orientation | 149 8.2.1.1.4 Possessee=body parts | 150 8.2.1.1.5 Possessee=common nouns | 152 8.2.1.1.6 Interim summary | 153 8.2.1.2 Noun possessor + ∅ + possessee | 153
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8.2.2 8.2.3 8.2.4 8.2.4.1 8.2.4.2 8.3 8.3.1 8.3.2 8.4
The demonstrative possessive construction: possessor + demonstrative (+ numeral + classifier) + possessee | 155 The classifier possessive construction: possessor + classifier + possessee | 158 The possessive construction with the genitive marker e2 其: possessor + e2 其 + possessee | 159 Personal pronoun + e2 + noun | 159 Noun + e2 + noun | 161 Predicative possessive constructions | 161 Semantic functions | 162 Pragmatic differences | 162 Summary | 164
Part II Predicate structure 9 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.3.1 9.3.2 9.3.3 9.3.4 9.4
Reduplication | 167 Introduction | 167 Form | 167 Functions | 170 Word formation through reduplication | 170 Repeated or continued event | 171 Increased quantity of participants | 173 Increased intensity | 173 Summary | 175
10 Verb complement constructions | 176 10.1 Introduction | 176 10.2 Directional verb complement constructions: V1-V2DIR | 178 10.2.1 Directional complements | 180 10.2.1.1 Monosyllabic directional complements | 180 10.2.1.2 Disyllabic directional complements | 182 10.2.2 Relative order of verb, complement and object | 185 10.2.3 Negative forms | 187 10.2.4 Other functions | 188 10.3 Resultative verb complement constructions: V1-V2RES | 188 10.3.1 Resultative complements | 189 10.3.1.1 Adjectives | 189 10.3.1.2 Directional verbs | 190 10.3.1.3 u4 ‘have’ and bo2 ‘not have’ | 192
Content | xv
10.3.1.4 10.3.2 10.3.3 10.4 10.5 10.5.1 10.5.2 10.6 10.7 10.8 10.9
liau3 ‘finish’ and sak7 ‘push’ | 194 Relative order of verb, complement and object | 195 Negative forms | 196 Verb-phase complement constructions: V1-V2PHA | 197 Verb-manner complement constructions: V-CM-C | 200 With the complement marker a5 遘 | 200 With the complement marker leʔ7 得 | 201 Verb-extent complement constructions: V-a5-C; V-si3/a3 | 202 Verb-quantitative complement constructions: V-Quantitative expression | 204 Potential verb complement constructions: V-e4/bue4-C; V-leʔ7-C; e4/bue4 -V- leʔ7- C | 206 Summary | 210
11 Aspect | 212 11.1 Introduction | 212 11.2 Perfective aspect | 213 11.2.1 liau3 ‘finish’ | 213 11.2.2 khɯ5 去 | 216 11.2.3 u4 ‘have, exist’ | 217 11.3 Imperfective aspect | 219 11.3.1 Progressive aspect | 219 11.3.2 Durative aspect | 221 11.3.3 Habitual aspect | 222 11.4 Experiential aspect | 223 11.5 Summary | 225 12 Modality | 226 12.1 Introduction | 226 12.2 Possibility | 227 12.2.1 Ability | 229 12.2.2 Root possibility | 231 12.2.3 Non-deontic possibility | 233 12.2.4 Permission | 234 12.2.5 Epistemic possibility | 234 12.3 Necessity | 236 12.4 Volition | 237 12.5 Summary | 238
xvi | Content
13 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 13.9
Negation | 240 Introduction | 240 General and volitional negatives m5 呣 and m5-4ai5 呣愛 | 241 Perfective negative bo2 無 | 245 Imminent negative bǝ5 未 | 250 Irrealis negative bue4 𣍐 | 251 General prohibitive baŋ1 ~ m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵 | 254 ‘Lack of necessity’ imperatives (m5-4)ben3(呣)免 | 255 Injunctive negative buan3 | 255 Summary | 256
14 Adpositions | 258 14.1 Introduction | 258 14.2 Spatial and temporal relations | 259 14.2.1 Location | 259 14.2.2 Source | 263 14.2.3 Goal | 265 14.2.4 Perlative | 266 14.3 Patient | 267 14.4 Agent | 271 14.5 Benefactive | 272 14.6 Comitative | 273 14.7 Standard of comparison | 274 14.8 Instrument | 275 14.9 Basis | 276 14.10 Summary | 276 15 Adverbs | 278 15.1 Introduction | 278 15.2 Manner adverbs | 279 15.3 Degree adverbs | 280 15.3.1 Basic degree adverbs | 280 15.3.2 Comparative degree adverbs | 282 15.4 Time adverbs | 284 15.5 Adverbs of quantity and scope | 285 15.6 Attitude and epistemic adverbs | 290 15.7 Summary | 291
Content | xvii
Part III Clause structure 16 The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions | 295 16.1 Introduction | 295 16.2 Relevant semantic roles | 296 16.3 The functions of kaʔ7 | 297 16.4 The functions of ka5 | 299 16.4.1 As an oblique marker | 299 16.4.2 As an object marker | 304 16.4.3 ka5 + personal pronoun | 307 16.5 Summary | 309 17 Comparative constructions of inequality | 311 17.1 Introduction | 311 17.1.1 Three main types of comparative proposed in Ansaldo (1999) | 312 17.1.2 Six main types of comparative in the Hui’an dialect | 314 17.2 Double-marking/hybridized comparatives: ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW) | 315 17.3 Absolute comparatives: ACOM khaʔ7 PRED (MW) | 321 17.4 Head-marking comparatives with khaʔ7: ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW) | 324 17.5 Zero-marked comparatives: ACOM PRED BSTA (MW) | 327 17.6 Comparatives with the marker khɯ5: ACOM PRED khɯ5 BSTA | 330 17.7 Dependent-marking comparatives with pi3: ACOM pi3 BSTA PRED (MW) | 334 17.8 Summary | 335 18 The ‘give’ construction | 337 18.1 Introduction | 337 18.2 As a ditransitive verb and perspective marker | 337 18.2.1 As a ditransitive verb | 337 18.2.2 As a perspective marker | 338 18.3 As a dative marker | 339 18.4 As a (permissive) causative verb | 341 18.5 As a purposive marker | 343 18.6 As a passive and speaker-affectedness marker | 344 18.7 As a concessive marker | 345 18.8 Summary | 346
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19 Interrogatives | 347 19.1 Introduction | 347 19.2 Alternative interrogatives | 347 19.3 Polar interrogatives | 349 19.3.1 Interrogatives with disjunctive structures | 349 19.3.1.1 VP-or-NEG-VP | 350 19.3.1.2 VP-NEG-VP | 351 19.3.1.3 VP-or-NEG | 351 19.3.2 Particle interrogatives | 352 19.3.2.1 a0 啊 | 352 19.3.2.2 m0 呣 | 353 19.3.2.3 bǝ0 未 | 355 19.3.2.4 bo0 無 | 356 19.3.2.5 bue0 𣍐 | 357 19.3.2.6 Status of particles m0, bǝ0, bo0 and bue0 | 358 19.3.2.7 Interrogatives via intonation | 359 19.3.3 Tag questions | 360 19.4 Constituent interrogatives | 361 19.4.1 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 and siã2 ‘what’ | 362 19.4.2 siã2laŋ2 and siaŋ2 ‘who’ | 365 19.4.3 ti4si2/tɯ4si2 and siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 si2-4tsam4 ‘when’ | 366 19.4.4 to3 ‘which’ | 366 19.4.5 to3 and to3-2taʔ7 ‘where’ | 367 19.4.6 kui3, lua4tsue5 and lua4 ‘how many/much’ | 368 19.4.7 tsiũ5 and kŋ5 ‘how’ | 369 19.4.8 lã5 and ui5-4siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 ‘why’ | 370 19.5 Summary | 370 20 Topic-comment constructions | 372 20.1 Introduction | 372 20.2 Forms of topics | 373 20.3 Semantic relations between topic and comment | 378 20.3.1 Coreferential (pseudo-)argument topic | 378 20.3.2 Frame-setting topic | 382 20.3.2.1 Time/location frame-setting topic | 383 20.3.2.2 Possession frame-setting topic | 384 20.3.2.3 Background frame-setting topic | 385 20.3.3 Identical topic | 387 20.3.4 Clause topic | 390
Content | xix
20.3.5 20.4 20.5 20.6 20.7 20.8
Split argument topic | 391 The position of topic | 393 Patient topicalization | 395 Topic marker | 398 Contrastive function of topic | 399 Summary | 400
Part IV Complex sentences 21 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 21.5
Coordination | 405 Introduction | 405 Conjunction | 406 Disjunction | 411 Adversative coordination | 412 Summary | 413
22 Relative clauses | 415 22.1 Introduction | 415 22.2 The relativization markers | 417 22.2.1 Attributive marker e2 其 | 419 22.2.2 Demonstratives | 420 22.2.3 Demonstrative complexes | 423 22.2.4 Classifiers | 427 22.2.5 Zero-marked | 428 22.2.6 Interim summary | 431 22.3 Position of the head noun | 431 22.3.1 Head-final and head-initial types | 432 22.3.2 Is there a head-internal type? | 435 22.3.3 Interim summary | 437 22.4 The role and encoding of the head noun in the relative clause | 438 22.4.1 Argument relative clauses | 441 22.4.2 Adjunct relative clauses | 442 22.4.3 ‘aboutness’ relative clauses | 443 22.5 The role and encoding of the head noun in the main clause | 444 22.5.1 The role of the head noun in the main clause | 444 22.5.2 The encoding of the head noun in the main clause | 445 22.6 Summary | 447
xx | Content
23 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 23.6
Adverbial clauses | 449 Introduction | 449 Time clauses | 449 Cause clauses | 455 Purpose clauses | 457 Conditional clauses | 458 Summary | 464
24 24.1 24.2 24.3 24.4 24.5 24.6
Complement clauses | 466 Introduction | 466 Utterance verbs | 467 Verbs of perception and cognition | 474 Modal verbs of volition | 481 Causative (or manipulative) verbs | 482 Summary | 483
25
Conclusion | 484
References | 485 Index | 511 Appendix | 515
1 Introduction Southern Min (also known as Hokkien or Minnan 閩南) is a major branch of Chinese spoken mainly in Fujian 福建 and Taiwan 臺灣, but also in Guangdong 廣 東, Hainan 海南, Zhejiang 浙江, Jiangxi 江西 and Hong Kong 香港, as well as in many countries of Southeast Asia. Highly conservative in its linguistic profile, it is considered by many scholars to be a living language fossil due to the preservation of many archaic features that reflect its long-lasting history and culture. Despite this, there has to date been no comprehensive study of any Southern Min variety using a typological framework. This grammar therefore aims to fill this gap by presenting a systematic description of the Hui’an 惠安 dialect, mainly based on data collected during naturally occurring conversation. The volume includes four parts: nominal structure, predicate structure, clause structure and complex sentences, in addition to a brief overview of phonology. This first introductory chapter includes the classification of Min 閩 dialects and the place of Hui’an within this important branch of Chinese as well as an overview of previous studies on Southern Min. We also highlight some of the special and unique features of this dialect, followed by information on the documentation methods used, presentation of examples and language usage in Hui’an.
1.1 The Hui’an dialect and its classification In the following two sections, we consider the classification of the Hui’an dialect within the Min branch of Chinese.
1.1.1 Southern Min The Min branch, one of the major Chinese branches, can be classified into five or six subgroups (cf. Pan et al. 1963, Yuan 1989, Zhou and Ouyang 1998). For example, Zhou and Ouyang (1998:3) point out that the Min branch in Fujian falls into six subgroups: (a) Eastern Min 閩東, with the Fuzhou 福州 variety as representative; (b) Southern Min 閩南, with the Xiamen 廈門 variety as representative; (c) Northern Min 閩北, with the Jian’ou 建甌 variety as representative; (d) Puxian 莆 仙, with the Putian 莆田 variety as representative; (e) Central Min 閩中, with the Yong’an 永安 variety as representative; and (f) Shaojiang 邵將, with the Shaowu 邵武 variety as representative.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-001
2 | Introduction
As mentioned above, Southern Min is not only spoken in the south of Fujian province, but also in Guangdong province, southern Hainan Island, the south of Zhejiang province, Jiangxi province, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and also in some other countries such as Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. According to Yuan (1989:236), Southern Min can be further classified into four areas: (a) South Fujian 福建 area, the varieties spoken in Xiamen 廈 門, Quanzhou 泉州, Zhangzhou 漳州 and Taiwan 臺灣, with the Xiamen variety as representative; (b) Chaoshan 潮汕 area, with the Chaozhou 潮州 variety as representative; (c) Hainan 海南 area, with the Wenchang 文昌 variety as representative; and (d) South Zhejiang 浙江 area, with the Pingyang 平陽 and Cangnan 蒼南 varieties as representative. According to the Language Atlas of China published in 2012, however, Southern Min is divided into five subgroups: (a) the Quan (Quanzhou) – Zhang (Zhangzhou) subgroup 泉漳小片; (b) the Datian subgroup 大田小片; (c) the Chao (Chaozhou) – Shan (Shantou) subgroup 潮汕小片; (d) the Southeastern Zhe (Zhejiang) subgroup 浙東南小片; and (e) the Northeastern Gan (Jiangxi) subgroup 贛東北小片.
1.1.2 Hui’an Hui’an, a County administered by Quanzhou City, is situated in the southeastern part of Fujian province between Meizhou 湄洲 Bay and Quanzhou 泉州 Bay. Hui’an County was established in the sixth year of the Taiping Xingguo 太平興國 Period of the Northern Song Dynasty (AD 981) (Chen and Wang 1998:1). With the government seat housed in Luocheng 螺城 Town, Hui’an governs twelve towns, namely Luocheng 螺城, Luóyáng 螺陽, Huangtang 黃塘, Zishan 紫山, Chongwu 崇武, Shanxia 山霞, Tuzhai 塗寨, Dongling 東嶺, Dongqiao 東橋, Jingfeng 淨峰, Xiaozuo 小岞 and Wangchuan 輞川, with a total area of about 489.42 square kilometers and a population of about 779,000 people up to 2014. Hui’an is a famous hometown for numerous overseas Chinese and Taiwan compatriots.
1.1.3 Characteristics of the Hui’an dialect In this book, the term ‘the Hui’an dialect’ is used to refer to the variety of Southern Min spoken in Luocheng Town, where the government seat of Hui’an County is located. According to the Language Atlas of China, the Hui’an dialect is grouped into the Quan (Quanzhou) – Zhang (Zhangzhou) subgroup of the Southern Min branch.
The Hui’an dialect and its classification | 3
The Hui’an dialect shares much in common with other Southern Min varieties in Fujian and Taiwan, especially the Quanzhou variety, with, however, subtle differences. In terms of phonological properties, there are in total fourteen initial phonemes in the Hui’an dialect: the initial /z/[dz] attested in some other Southern Min varieties such as Zhangzhou and Taiwan has merged with the initial l in Hui’an. As with other Southern Min varieties, the Hui’an dialect has three sets of plosives: voiceless unaspirated (p, t, k), voiceless aspirated (ph, th, kh) and voiced (b, l, g), among which, the plosives b, l and g are only followed by non-nasalized finals, in complementary distribution with the nasals m, n and ŋ, respectively, which only occur before nasalized finals. The Hui’an dialect has developed a 7tone system like most of other Southern Min varieties in Fujian and Taiwan, even though in different ways. The system of tone sandhi is complex: besides the general tone sandhi rules, reduplicated forms of adjectives have their own rules (see chapter 2). In terms of morphology, as in other Chinese varieties, the Hui’an dialect has no inflectional morphology, but exhibits derivational processes such as reduplication, affixation and compounding. Unlike Mandarin Chinese, reduplication in Hui’an is neither used to form kinship terms, nor applied to classifiers to express the meaning of ‘every’. It is common for a reduplication process to be applied twice, that is, forming a triplicated form, or even three or four times, to express increased intensity (an increased amount of emphasis) (see chapters 3 and 9). The plural personal pronouns in general have singular meanings when they function as possessors in genitive constructions. Both the exclusive gun3 阮 ‘we’ and the inclusive lan3 ‘we’ can also have a singular meaning when functioning as a subject or an object (see chapter 4). Compared to some other Chinese varieties such as Mandarin and Yue, the Hui’an dialect (also other Min varieties) shows a relatively complicated nominal demonstrative system: five sets of nominal demonstratives are attested, and probably all involve syllable contraction (see chapter 5). Besides the common function of modifying a noun with(out) a numeral, quantifier or nominal demonstrative, classifiers in Hui’an, just as in some other Southern Min varieties including the Taiwan variety, can also be used with an adjective such as tua5 大 ‘big’ and sue5 細 ‘small’ to form compound adjectives (see chapter 7). As in other Chinese varieties, verb complement constructions are common in Hui’an. However, unlike Mandarin Chinese and many other Chinese dialects where potential verb complement constructions are marked by DE 得 and its cog-
4 | Introduction
nates derived from the ‘get’ verb, the Hui’an dialect (also other Southern Min varieties) uses the auxiliary verb e4 ‘can’ and its negative form bue4 ‘cannot’ for potential verb complement constructions (see chapter 10). In terms of aspect system, the Hui’an dialect has no typical perfective aspect marker. There are two experiential aspect markers: pat7 八 (< ‘know’) and tioʔ8 著 ‘touch, get’, unlike Mandarin Chinese which uses the verb guò 過 ‘pass’ as an experiential aspect marker (see chapter 11). Compared with prepositions in Mandarin Chinese, prepositions are not commonly used in daily conversation in Hui’an: many noun phrases which have to be introduced by a preposition in Mandarin Chinese can be used without any marking in Hui’an (see chapter 14). The morphemes ka(ŋ)共 and kaʔ/kap 合 are two important multifunctional function words in Southern Min. They overlap with each other in terms of their functions in some Southern Min varieties: for example, they both function as an oblique marker for goal in Taiwan Southern Min (cf. Cheng and Tsao 1995, Tsao 2005). In Hui’an, however, kaʔ7 合 functions as a connective or comitative marker, whereas ka5 共 typically takes on a range of other functions: (a) it functions as an oblique marker, marking source, goal, beneficiary and maleficiary; (b) it also functions as an object marker; and (c) it can precede a (non-)referential personal pronoun to express the speaker’s subjective attitude (see chapter 16). The head-marking (or surpass) type of comparative (ACOM –PRED – HMC –BSTA) and the dependent-marking type of comparative (or similar ones) (ACOM – DMC – BSTA –PRED) are two predominant comparative construction types in contemporary Chinese. By contrast, in the Hui’an dialect (also other Southern Min varieties), the main type of comparative is the double-marking type (ACOM – DMC – BSTA – HMC – PRED). In addition, head-marking comparatives with the marker khaʔ7 恰 (ACOM + khaʔ7 + PRED + BSTA (+ MW)),zero-marked comparatives (ACOM + PRED + BSTA (+ MW)) and comparatives with the marker khɯ5 去 (ACOM + PRED + khɯ5 去+ BSTA) are also attested in the Hui’an dialect, among which, the last type has not been reported in the literature on other Southern Min varieties, although it can be found in the Fuzhou variety of Northeastern Min (see chapter 17). The ‘give’ verb in Hui’an, khɔ5, can not only be used as a ditransitive verb, dative marker, permissive verb, causative verb and passive marker, but also as a perspective marker, concessive marker, purposive marker and speaker-affectedness marker (see chapter 18). Polar interrogatives in Hui’an can be marked by a series of strategies such as interrogative particles, interrogative intonation, disjunctive structures and the addition of tags, among which, the disjunctive is not common in the languages of the world, though widely used in Chinese. The ‘VPNEG’ pattern of polar interrogative, which is widely used in Chinese, especially Southern Chinese, is not attested in Hui’an (see chapter 19).
Previous studies on Southern Min | 5
The main word order in Hui’an is SVO. However, topicalization, especially patient topicalization, is quite normal in certain constructions. The topic in Hui’an typically occurs after the subject and before the main verb in the comment, especially when both the topic and the subject are present in the sentence. Unlike some Chinese varieties such as Wu, the topic in Hui’an is not basically followed by either an obvious pause or a pause particle, and is rarely used for contrast. In other words, the topic in Hui’an is more like an unmarked constituent (see chapter 20). As in other Chinese varieties, the modifier in the Hui’an dialect usually precedes the modified. For example, the possessor in the attributive possessive construction invariably precedes the possessee (see chapter 8); the adverb typically precedes the verb which it modifies (see chapter 15). Similarly, the relative clauses mainly belong to the head-final type. However, the head-initial type is also attested (see chapter 22). Unlike some European languages such as English where adverbial clauses are usually marked by subordinating conjunctions, the Hui’an dialect tends to juxtapose the clauses, with the relevant semantic relation between the clauses inferred, or else an adverb is used in the main clause to mark the semantic relation between the clauses (see chapter 23). Complement clauses in Hui’an typically function as an object of the main clause, that is, constitute object clauses. Utterance verbs and some verbs of perception and cognition such as kam3-2kak7 感覺 ‘feel’ and siu}4 想 ‘think’ can occur with the complementizer sǝʔ7 (< ‘say’) and/or khuã5 看 (< ‘look’), among which the complementizer khua}5 is typically used to introduce an interrogative complement clause and is used in the context which inquires about something or looks for an answer (see chapter 24).
1.2 Previous studies on Southern Min During the past 88 years since the publication of Luo (1930), studies on Southern Min have developed significantly. Early works on Southern Min, however, show a strong tendency to focus on phonological phenomena. Morphosyntax of Southern Min in general has not received much attention prior to the past three decades. Comparatively speaking, much work has been done on morphosyntax in the case of Taiwan Southern Min (e.g. Yang 1991; Cheng 1997a; Tang 1999a; Lien 2016; Lin 2011, 2016; Lee 2009, 2010, 2012), which involves a series of perspectives, such as comparative (e.g. Tsao 1988; Wang and Lien 1995; Lien 2010), historical (e.g. Lien 1994, 2003c, 2013, 2014; Chang 1996, 2009), typological (e.g. Lien 1999b, 2003c), psycholinguistic (e.g. Lien and Wang 1999), sociolinguistic (e.g. Lien 1999a), cognitive and/or pragmatic (e.g. Chang 2002; Li and Wang 2003; Lien
6 | Introduction
2003b, 2005a, 2007; Chang and Su 2012), and construction grammar (e.g. Lien 2001, 2003a, 2005b, 2008). Much less work has been done on Southern Min varieties in Fujian, the birthplace of Southern Min (also other varieties in Guangdong, Hainan and Zhejiang). Previous research on Southern Min varieties in Fujian tends to stay mainly on a descriptive level (e.g. Chen 1992, 1993, 1994; Wang and Zhang 1994; Zhou and Ouyang 1998). In addition, the description is typically based on the framework of Mandarin Chinese, which, in fact, is not always applicable as the framework for research on Southern Min. Other research perspectives such as comparative and historical perspectives are mainly attested in a few studies during the recent years, e.g. Li (2005a), Shi (2012, 2013), Chen (2011, 2017), Zeng and Li (2013) and Xu (2017). Note also that existing works on Southern Min mainly examine linguistic phenomena in a minority of varieties, especially those spoken in major cities, such as the Xiamen variety. Little attention has been paid to the varieties in the counties (or villages), such as Hui’an County, the focus of this book. Previous works on Southern Min in Hui’an County can only be found in the publications by Chen Fajin (e.g. Chen 1982, 1984, 1991) and his daughter Chen Manjun (e.g. Chen 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2013). They do not indicate which specific variety their research is based on, except for Chen (2013:5, 14) who points out that her research is based on that spoken in the town of Luoyang 洛陽 (which belonged to Hui’an County before 2010). Moreover, her data is mainly collected from her parents and herself. This book, however, focuses on the variety spoken in the town of Luocheng 螺城 where the county seat of Hui’an is located, as mentioned above.
1.3 Data collection The data used in this book are collected from the town of Luocheng, which is the county seat of Hui’an County. The town of Luocheng is around 24.5 kilometers away from the Licheng 鯉城 District, which is the political, economic and cultural center of Quanzhou City, as shown in Fig. 1-1 above. The data for our analysis are mainly collected from the following three sources from 2005 to 2008: (i) Naturally occurring conversation on diverse topics by native speakers who are representative of the Luocheng population. Total duration of the recordings is around 32.21 hours. People involved in conversations are the author’s relatives and their friends of different generations, occupations and gender.
Data collection | 7
These conversations were collected via MP3 and first transcribed only into Chinese characters, due to the size of the corpus. In total 34 informants with different degrees of participation are involved in our data. A list of fourteen of these main informants are given in Table 1-1. For ethical reasons, all the names and personal information have been substituted by letters of the alphabet so that the participants cannot be identified from these data. For all the examples chosen in this grammar, names and personal information are changed to preserve anonymity. An example of transcription is given in (1) below. Tab. 1-1: Major informants in 2019
Number
Age
Gender
Occupation
1
67
Male
Teacher
2
64
Female
Worker
3
39
Female
Officer
4
68
Female
Worker
5
69
Male
Worker
6
41
Female
Teacher
7
59
Male
Worker
8
54
Female
Freelance
9
83
Female
Farmer
10
69
Male
Teacher
11
67
Male
Officer
12
37
Female
Officer
13
69
Male
Worker
14
38
Male
Teacher
8 | Introduction
(1)
An example of transcription A: 阿三 汝 無 買 啊 a1sã1 lɯ3 bo2-4 bue3 a0 PN 2SG not.have buy SFP ‘Ah-San, you didn’t buy (anything)?’ B: 無 買 bo2-4 bue3 not.have buy ‘I didn’t.’ C: 伊 一直 說 呣 買 i1 et7-8tet8-4 sǝʔ7-8 m5-4 bue3 3SG always say not buy ‘She’d been saying that she didn’t want to buy (anything).’
This kind of data is able to largely reflect the daily usage of the Hui’an dialect and show the most natural way of expressing grammatical or semantic categories at the time when the fieldwork was conducted; (ii) Systematic field elicitation via two questionnaires, i.e. Yue-Hashimoto (1993) and Liu and Tang (2003). The informants are asked to translate Mandarin words/sentences in the questionnaires into the Hui’an dialect version, or provide the usages of a morpheme or construction in the Hui’an dialect. It should be noted that it is easy to generate unnatural usages with this method, due to the influence of the language used in the questionnaires. The data collected by the questionnaires, however, can be used to supplement the data from conversations to a certain extent, since the conversations may not be able to cover all usages of a morpheme or syntactic construction; (iii) Targeted investigations. We check a specific linguistic phenomenon with the native speakers during our research on a specific topic. For ethical reasons, no personal data are collected.
1.4 Presentation of examples in this reference grammar Examples of the Hui’an dialect are generally given in a four-line format: their Chinese characters, IPA transcription (see §2.1 for a discussion on the transliteration practices for Southern Min), morpheme-by-morpheme gloss, and English translation. A homophonic character or the square symbol 口 is used when no corresponding character is available. Round brackets are used in the case of syllable fusion, and for characters not used in contemporary Mandarin Chinese that are written from left to right with two vertical components and thus cannot be typed
Language usage in Hui’an | 9
as a single character for Southern Min. For example, khai0(起來)is a fused form of khi3lai0 起來, while bai5(目賣)can be a verb meaning ‘visit’ , in which ‘目賣’ represents the single character which is written from left to right with the two vertical components ‘目’ and ‘賣’.The gloss basically follows the Leipzig Glossing Rules. Mandarin examples are also given in a four-line format unless reproduced from other sources, but are transcribed in pīnyīn with tone marks, rather than in IPA. Examples of other sources are basically quoted in their original forms, unless a four-line format is applicable.
1.5 Language usage in Hui’an The elder generation basically uses only the Hui’an dialect in their daily lives, and some of them, especially women, can only speak the Hui’an dialect, that is, have no knowledge of Mandarin Chinese. The middle-aged adults normally can speak both the Hui’an dialect and Mandarin Chinese, but tend to use the Hui’an dialect both in and outside the family. On the contrary, the younger generation, especially those students in school, uses much more Mandarin Chinese than the other two generations mentioned above, especially at school and when they chat with their friends. Nowadays, young parents and even some grandparents use Mandarin Chinese with their children, although they speak the Hui’an dialect among themselves. Most of the TV programs are broadcast and transmitted in Mandarin Chinese, though there is a program named huin5-4uã1 kaŋ3-2kɔ3 惠安講古 telling stories using the Hui’an dialect. A chapter on phonology is next presented which precedes the first major part of the grammar, Part I, on Nominal Structure.
2 Phonology 2.1 Introduction This chapter aims to provide an outline of the main phonological properties relevant to the grammatical description. Thus, we will only give a brief introduction of phonology in Hui’an and make a simple comparison with other Southern Min varieties, especially those in Fujian, but do not present a detailed analysis of the phonetic and phonological features. This chapter is organized as follows. Sections 2.2 and 2.3 describe the initials and finals, respectively, followed by a discussion of tone and tone sandhi in §2.4. Section 2.5 presents examples of syllable fusion. Before proceeding to this discussion, we say something about the transliteration of Southern Min. As mentioned by Cheng and Cheng (1994:5), at least more than ten sets of symbols have been put forward for the transliteration of Taiwan Southern Min or Amoy, of which Church Romanization has the longest history and is the most widely used, particularly in Taiwan in the domain of Southern Min linguistics, cultural anthropology and literature. As Lien (2001:174, note 1) explains, the transliteration of Taiwan Southern Min has been based on the Church Romanization given in Douglas (1873) with certain modifications, such as tone numbers instead of diacritics. As for the literature on Southern Min written by linguists in Mainland China such as Zhou and Ouyang (1998) and Qian (2002), the transliteration is mainly based on the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). In this book, we use a phonemic orthography based on IPA for the Hui’an dialect.
2.2 Initials There are fourteen initial phonemes in Hui’an, which are shown in Table 2-1.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-002
Initials | 11
Tab.2-1: Initials in the Hui’an dialect
Labial Plosive p
ph
Dental/Alveolar b
Affricate Fricative Nasal
t
th
ts(tɕ)
tsh(tɕh)
Velar l
k
kh
Glottal g
s(ɕ) (m)
1
h (n)
(ŋ)
The initials in Hui’an are similar to those in other Southern Min varieties in terms of inventory except that there is one more initial, i.e. the voiced affricate /z/[dz] (or /j/[dz])1 in Zhangzhou, Shantou, Jieyang and Taiwan (except for some varieties such as the Taibei variety), which has merged with the initial l in Hui’an, Quanzhou and Xiamen (also Taibei and Tainan in Taiwan), or has merged with the initial g in Jiayi and Pingdong in Taiwan (Zhou 2006:15, Lin and Chen 1996:1314, Xu 2007:19, Cheng 1997b:10). As in other varieties of Southern Min, there exist three sets of initial plosives: voiceless unaspirated (p, t, k), voiceless aspirated (ph, th, kh) and voiced (b, l, g). The nasals m, n and ŋ only occur before either nasalized vowels or finals with a nasal coda, in complementary distribution with the plosives b, l and g, respectively, which are never followed by nasalized vowels or finals with a nasal coda. This suggests that m and b, n and l, ŋ and g constitute one initial phoneme, respectively. Following previous works on Southern Min such as Yang (1991), these initials are phonemically transcribed as /b/, /l/ and /g/ as, for example, in bua2 磨 ‘rub’ and buã3[muã3] 滿 ‘full’, respectively. Thus, m, n, and ŋ are placed in round brackets in Table 2-1. In the speech of younger generation, the plosive g is lost in some words, e.g. 3 gua -> ua3 我 ‘I’, or is pronounced as b, e.g. gu2 -> bu2 牛 ‘cattle’. A similar phenomenon is noted by Cheng (1997b:10) in Taiwan Southern Min: not only the plosive g but also b are being lost as in oa and sīn-ūn which are originally goa 我 ‘I’ and sīn-būn 新聞 ‘news’, respectively. The nature of l is controversial in previous works on Southern Min. It is regarded as a lateral approximant in Luo (1956[1930]), but regarded as a plosive (or stop) in Zhong (2002) and Zhu (2010), or as a flap in Lin (1989) and Cheng (1997b).
|| 1 Note that /z/[dz] is used by Zhou (2006), Lin and Chen (1996) and Xu (2007), while /j/[dz] is used by Cheng (1997b).
12 | Phonology
Those who regard l as a lateral approximant usually also mention the similarity between l and d. For example, Luo (1956[1930]) points out that l in Xiamen has a tendency to approach d. Due to the fact that b, l, and g are in complementary distribution with the nasals m, n and ŋ, we regard l as a plosive in this book, following previous works such as Zhong (2002) and Zhu (2010), one advantage of which is that the system of consonant initials constitutes a neat parallelism. When occurring before the front vowel i, the initials ts, tsh and s are pronounced like the alveo-palatal obstruents tɕ, tɕh and ɕ, respectively. In other words, they undergo palatalization. This palatalization phenomenon is also noted by Luo (1956[1930]:7), Dong (1974:279) and Yang (1991:24). However, Dong (1974:279) observes that, in Xiamen, palatalization also happens when ts, tsh and s occur before the front vowel [e]. The symbol 1 in Table 2-1, realized as a glottal stop [ʔ], is traditionally used to refer to zero initials occurring before syllables beginning with a vowel. Note that the glottal stop [ʔ] is regarded as a feature of entering tone, but not a segment in Zhong (2002:18-31). The place of articulation of the initial h in Hui’an is further back than the fricative x in Mandarin Chinese.
2.3 Finals Zhu (2010:319) classifies the finals in Xiamen into four main categories in terms of their codas, subcategories of which are represented as follows. (a) finals without a consonantal coda (i) without a coda: oral and nasal vowels (ii) with a glide coda: oral and nasal vowels (b) finals with a glottal plosive coda (i) with a single glottal plosive coda: oral and nasal vowels (ii) with a glide and a glottal plosive coda: oral and nasal vowels (c) finals with a nasal coda m/n/ŋ (d) finals ending with an unreleased plosive p/t/k Following this classification of Zhu (2010), the finals in Hui’an are presented in Table 2-2. There are eighty-one altogether.
Finals | 13
Tab. 2-2: Finals in the Hui’an dialect
Non-consonantal coda no coda
1
glottal plosive coda
glide+ glottal plosive coda
OV3
NV
OV
NV
OV
NV
OV
NV
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
iʔ
ĩʔ
i
2
u
3
a
ã
e
ẽ
Nasal coda
au ai
6
o
7
ɔ
8
ɯ
9
ǝ
10
iu
iũ
11
ia
iã
12
io
-n
-ŋ
-p
-t
-k
9
10
11
12
13
14
in4
iŋ
it
un
aʔ
ãʔ
eʔ
ẽʔ
auʔ
ãuʔ
am
an
aŋ
ap
at
en
et
oʔ ɔ̃
ɔʔ
ɔ̃ ʔ
ɔŋ
ǝʔ
ɔk
ǝn
iuʔ iau
iãu
iaʔ
iãʔ
iauʔ
iãuʔ
iaŋ
iat
iɔŋ iǝm ui
16
ua
17
ue
iak
ioʔ
13
15
ak
ãi
14
18
Plosive coda
-m
uʔ
4 5
Glottal plosive coda
glide coda2
uiʔ uã
uai
uãi
uaʔ
iɔk iǝp
uin uãiʔ
uan
uaŋ
ueʔ
uat ut
mʔ ŋʔ
m
ŋ
The frequencies of words found with the finals above differ widely. The following finals: ĩʔ, ãi, ẽ, ẽʔ, ɔʔ, ɔ̃ ʔ, iuʔ, iãu, iauʔ, iãuʔ, uai, uãiʔ and uaŋ, only exist in a few
|| 2 u and i at the medial or final position as in au and uai, are transcribed as w and j, as in aw and waj in Zhu (2010). In this volume however, we use u and i as in au and uai, following most other descriptions of related Southern Min varieties. 3 ‘OV’ and ‘NV’ refer to oral vowel and nasal vowel, respectively. 4 Note that in our recent fieldwork with a new elder informant (January 2019), the pronunciation is more like ĩ. A similar phenomenon is also attested in the final uin (i.e. uin vs. uĩ).
14 | Phonology
words, some of which are onomatopoeic syllables, or just in one word. For example, there is only one word for the final uaŋ: huaŋ1 風 ‘wind’.
2.4 Tone 2.4.1 Citation tones There are seven citation tones in Hui’an, as shown in Table 2-3 below. Tab. 2-3: Citation tones in the Hui’an dialect
Tone number Classical tone categories5 Pitch description
Examples
1
yīn píng 陰平
33 mid level
hue1 花 ‘follower’
2
yáng píng 陽平
24 low rising
kiŋ2 窮 ‘poor’
3
yīn shǎng 陰上
53 high falling
kɔ3 古 ‘old’
4
yáng shǎng 陽上
22 low level
si4 是 ‘yes’
5
yīn qù 陰去
31 mid falling
si5 四 ‘four’
6
yáng qù 陽去
31 mid falling
hai5 害 ‘harm’
7
yīn rù 陰入
54 high falling checked
kiǝp7 急 ‘urgent’
8
yáng rù 陽入
3 mid rising checked
liǝp8 入 ‘enter’
Southern Min in Fujian and Taiwan has generally developed a 7-tone system, but in different ways. For example, as shown in Table 2-3 above, Tones 5 (yīn qù) and 6 (yáng qù) have merged into one tone in Hui’an, as in Quanzhou (Zhou 2006:17), while Tone 4 (yáng shǎng) has merged with Tone 6 (yáng qù) in Xiamen and Zhangzhou (Zhou 2006:17), and Tone 3 (yīn shǎng) has generally merged with Tone 4 (yáng shǎng ) in Taiwan (Cheng 1997b:26). However, Southern Min in Guangdong such as Chaozhou, Shantou and Jieyang generally retains an 8-tone system (Ma 2002:53-54, Xu 2007:24). The Longyan variety in Fujian and the Lugang variety in Taiwan also have an 8-tone system (Ma 2002:51, 74).
|| 5 In the history of Chinese phonology, the four tone categories píng 平 ‘level’, shǎng 上 ‘rising’, qù 去 ‘departing’ and rù 入 ‘entering’ established since Middle Chinese (AD 200-900) have undergone various splits and merges. For example, each of the four tone categories may be split into a high and a low register, i.e. yīn 陰 and yáng 陽, which thus yields a symmetrical eight-tone system (cf. Chen 2000:5-7).
Tone | 15
2.4.2 Tone sandhi Tone sandhi is a tonal alternation in connected speech, in which the tones assigned to individual morphemes or words change, based on their adjacent tones. As with other Chinese varieties, tone sandhi is triggered in Hui’an when syllables with specific tone values are juxtaposed in a word or phrase. Different tone systems in Southern Min present tone sandhi according to different sets of rules. Tone sandhi in Hui’an is similar to that in Quanzhou as shown by the examples in Zhou (2006). In this section, we will first give a brief introduction to the general tone sandhi rules, followed by an introduction to special tone sandhi rules in reduplicated forms of adjectives. In Hui’an, the last morpheme or word in a word or phrase, usually retains its citation tone, while the preceding morpheme(s) or word(s) have to undergo tone sandhi unless the last morpheme or word is in a neutral tone (see §2.4.4). The general tone sandhi rules are shown in Table 2-4 below. Tab. 2-4: General tone sandhi rules in the Hui’an dialect Classi- yīn cal píng tone 陰平 categories
yáng píng 陽平
yīn shǎng 陰上
yáng shǎng 陽上
yīn qù 陰去
yáng qù 陽去
yīn rù 陰入
yáng rù 陽入
Citation tone
T1(33)
T2(24)
T3(53)
T4(22)
T5(31)
T5(31)
T7(54)
T8(3)
Sandhi T1(33) tone
T4(22)
T2(24)
T4(22)
T3(53)
T4(22)
T8(3)
T4(22)
It can be seen from Table 2-4 that: (a) T1 (33) remains unchanged preceding other tones, e.g. tshia33lɔ31 -> tshia33lɔ31 車路 ‘road’; (b) T2 (24) changes to T4 (22) preceding other tones, e.g. si24kan33 -> si22kan33 時間 ‘time’; (c) T3 (53) changes to T2 (24) preceding other tones, e.g. pun53lai24 -> pun24lai24 本 來 ‘originally’; (d) T4 (22) remains unchanged preceding other tones, e.g. u22si24 -> u22si24 有時 ‘sometimes’;
16 | Phonology
(e) As mentioned in §2.4.1, the classical tone categories yīn qù and yáng qù have the same citation tone, i.e. T5 (31) in Hui’an, however, their sandhi tones are different: yīn qù changes to T3 (53) preceding other tones as in kaŋ31ke22 -> kaŋ53ke22 降低 ‘lower’, while yáng qù changes to T4 (22) as in ben31kǝn33 -> ben22kǝn33 面巾 ‘towel’; (f) T7 (54) changes to T8 (3) preceding other tones, e.g. peʔ54pak54 -> peʔ3pak54 憋 腹 ‘worry’; (g) T8 (3) changes to T4 (22) preceding other tones, e.g. bak3tsiu33 -> bak22tsiu33 目 珠‘eye’. In other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen and Taiwan, triplicated adjectives do not follow the general tone sandhi rules (Zhou and Ouyang 1998:25, Cheng 1997b:28). In Hui’an, not only the triplicated adjectives but also other reduplicated forms of adjectives depart from the general tone sandhi rules. In addition, tone sandhi rules applied to triplicated adjectives in Hui’an are different from those in Xiamen or Taiwan. The tone sandhi rules for reduplicated adjectives are shown in Table 2-5 below. Tab. 2-5: Tone sandhi rules of reduplicated adjectives
Citation tone
T1(33), T2(24), T3(53), T4(22)
T5(31)
T7(54)
T8(3)
Sandhi tone
T2(24)
T2(24)/55
T8(3)
T8(3)
The first adjective in reduplicated adjectives undergoes tone sandhi as indicated in Table 2-5 above, while the second adjective retains its citation tone. It can be seen from Table 2-5 that: (a) non-entering tones change to T2 (24), unless T2 (24) is the original tone which remains unchanged. Note that T2 (24) is also the general sandhi form of T3 (53); (b) T5 (31) can also change to a tone with a value of 55; (c) T7 (54) changes to T8 (3), which is the same as its general tone sandhi rule; (d) T8 (3) retains its citation tone. Examples are given in (1) below.
Tone | 17
(1)
a. b. c. d. e.
ɔ33 烏 ‘black’ -> ɔ24 + ɔ33 烏烏 ‘a state of being black’ kuin24 懸 ‘high’ -> kuin24 + kuin24 懸懸 ‘a state of being high’ pa53 飽 ‘full’ -> pa24 + pa53 飽飽 ‘a state of being full’ lau22 老 ‘old’ -> lau24 + lau22 老老 ‘a state of being old’ tshau31 臭 ‘smelly’ -> tshau24/tshau55 + tshau31 臭臭 ‘a state of being smelly’ f. theʔ54 澈 ‘clean’ -> theʔ3 + theʔ54 澈澈 ‘a state of being clean’ g. peʔ3 白 ‘white’ -> peʔ3 + peʔ3 白白 ‘a state of being white’
Triplicated adjectives are formed by inserting one more adjective with T4 (22), as in ɔ33 烏‘black’ -> ɔ24 + ɔ22 + ɔ33 烏烏烏 ‘a state of being black’ and peʔ3 白‘white’ -> peʔ3 + peʔ22 + peʔ3 白白白 ‘a state of being white’. The same adjective with T4 (22) can be further inserted to strengthen the degree of the state indicated by the adjective, as in ɔ33 烏 ‘black’ -> ɔ24 ɔ22 ɔ22 ɔ33 烏烏烏烏 and ɔ33 烏 ‘black’ -> ɔ24 ɔ22 ɔ22 ɔ22 ɔ33 烏烏烏烏烏.
2.4.3 Tonemic representation of citation and sandhi tones In our phonemic representation, tones are represented by numbers referring to tone categories as shown in Table 2-3. The citation tone is followed by the sandhi tone (if any), separated by a hyphen. Take bo2-4 無 ‘not have’ for example, 2 refers to the second tone (i.e. T2 (24)) standing for the citation tone, while 4 refers to the fourth tone (i.e. T4 (22)) indicating the sandhi tone (see also Tables 2-3 and 2-4).
2.4.4 Neutral tone and stress In Southern Min including the Hui’an dialect, there exist some morphemes whose tones are short and light, and cannot be grouped into one of the seven/eight citation tones since they do not possess any of the tone contours for the citation tones. Tones of these morphemes are traditionally regarded as neutral tone. It should be noted that the term ‘neutral tone’ here is different from the term qīngshēng 輕聲 in the literature on Chinese linguistics, since qīngshēng is at least used in two ways, meaning either (a) an unstressed syllable or (b) the neutral tone (Lu and Wang 2005:107) in the sense we are using it. As for the neutral tone in Southern Min, Wang (1996), Zhou and Ouyang (1998:33-36) and Cheng (1997b, 1997c) present detailed discussions on neutral
18 | Phonology
tone in Quanzhou, Xiamen and Taiwan, respectively, which suggest a high degree of similarity in different Southern Min varieties in Fujian and Taiwan. Neutral tone can be divided into two types: (a) neutral tone involving lexical items and (b) neutral tone involving grammatical morphemes. Type (a) neutral tone is rare in Taiwan Southern Min (Cheng 1997b:105), which is also true for the Hui’an dialect. The following are some examples from Hui’an, which are also found in other Southern Min varieties such as Taiwan, Quanzhou and Xiamen. (2) a. let8si0 日時 ‘day time’; bin2si0 暝時 ‘night’ b. tsoʔ8let0 昨日 ‘the day before yesterday’; au4let0 後日 ‘the day after tomorrow’ c. luaʔ8laŋ0 熱冬 ‘summer’; kuã2laŋ0 寒冬 ‘winter’ d. ho3tshu0 好處 ‘advantage’; phai3tshu0 否處 ‘disadvantage’ Type (b) neutral tone involves grammatical morphemes such as sentence-final particles and some aspect markers. For example, all sentence-final particles in Hui’an are in the neutral tone (see Chen and Wu 2015 for details of type (b) neutral tone). Languages in the world are traditionally classified into two types: tone languages and stress/accent languages. Chinese is regarded as a typical example of tone languages. Whether there exists ‘stress’ and how ‘stress’ is indicated in Chinese are controversial issues in the literature. Most linguists nowadays agree that at least some Chinese varieties have ‘stress’. The strongest evidence comes from changes of tone (e.g. Cheng and Zeng 1997:244). Cheng and Zeng (1997:244-248) suggest that changes of tone indicating stress fall into five types: (a) the original tone becomes more prominent, e.g. the first syllable in triplicated adjectives; (b) the stressed syllable retains its citation tone while the mid-stressed syllable undergoes tone sandhi6; (c) unstressed syllables do not have a tonal contrast (i.e. they have neutral tone); and (d) tonal spread occurs from stressed syllables to unstressed syllables. Unlike the classification of Cheng and Zeng (1997), stress in Hui’an is divided into two main categories: (a) stressed; and (b) unstressed. Stressed syllables can be classified into three types: (a) stressed syllables which retain their citation tones; (b) syllables with contrastive stress which retain their citation tone contours with an increased intensity; and (c) the first syllable in a duplicated adjective whose tone changes to the mid-rising tone T2 (24) or the high level tone with || 6 In Cheng and Zeng (1997), citation tone, sandhi tone and neutral tone are associated with stressed, mid-stressed and unstressed syllables, respectively.
Syllable fusion | 19
a value of 55. Unstressed syllables fall into three types: (a) unstressed syllables which undergo tone sandhi; (b) unstressed syllables whose tones are shorter and lighter than their citation tones, but retain their original tone contour, as opposed to syllables with contrastive stress; and (c) unstressed syllables which are in neutral tone. Neutral tone is generally regarded as a result of syllables being unstressed (e.g. Xu 1980, Liu 2002, Lu and Wang 2005). Our classification of unstressed syllables above, however, suggests that (a) unstressed syllables do not necessarily result in neutral tone; and (b) unstressed syllables are only one factor in the emergence of neutral tone. In other words, the emergence of neutral tone needs more in-depth explanation(s).
2.5 Syllable fusion Syllable fusion refers to the phenomenon whereby two syllables are reduced to one with loss of the boundary between the original two syllables. Zhong (2002:121-155) presents a detailed discussion on syllable fusion in Taiwan Southern Min. This section does not attempt to examine syllable fusion in detail, but gives some examples regarded as instances of syllable fusion in Hui’an, as shown in (3) and (4), which are obligatory and optional, respectively (see also Chen and Wu 2015). (3) Frozen fused forms a. m5 呣 ‘not’ + a0 啊 ‘SFP’ -> ma0 (bã0) ‘interrogative particle’ b. sa1taŋ2 相同 -> saŋ2 ‘same’; then sa1 is added before saŋ2 again to form sa1saŋ2 c. kin1a3-2let8 今仔日 -> kiã1let8 ‘today’ d. biŋ2-4a3-2let8 明仔日 -> bin2-4a3-2let8 -> biã2-4let8 ‘tomorrow’ e. tsit8-4e4 蜀下 ‘once, one time’ -> tse0 ‘delimitative marker’ (4) Optionally fused forms a. si4 m5 a0 是呣啊 -> si4 ma0 -> siã0 ‘right?’ b. m5-4lɔŋ3 呣攏 -> bɔŋ3 ‘possibly’ c. li5-4tsap8 二十 -> liǝp8 ‘twenty’ d. khi3lai0 起來 -> khai0 ‘come up’ e. m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵 -> m5-4baŋ1 -> baŋ1 ‘should not’
20 | Phonology
2.6 Summary This chapter has provided an outline of the main phonological properties relevant to grammatical description including initials, finals, tone and syllable fusion. There are fourteen initial phonemes, eighty-one finals and seven citation tones. Several examples of syllable fusion are given in §2.5. Initials in Hui’an are the same as those in Quanzhou and Xiamen in terms of inventory. The voiced affricate /z/ [dz] in Zhangzhou, Shantou and Jieyang has merged with the initial /l/ in Hui’an. As in other Southern Min varieties, there exist three sets of plosives: voiceless unaspirated (p, t, k), voiceless aspirated (ph, th, kh) and voiced (b, l, g). In the speech of the younger generation, the plosive [g] is lost in some words or pronounced as [b]. The nature of [l] is controversial in the literature. In this book, [l] is grouped among the plosives, one advantage of which is that the initial system is thus constituted by a neat parallelism. The initials ts, tsh and s undergo palatalization to form a corresponding set of allophones when they occur before the front vowel i. Following Zhu (2010), finals are classified into four main types as shown in Table 2-2: (a) finals without a consonantal coda; (b) finals with a glottal plosive coda; (c) finals with a nasal coda; and (d) finals ending with a unreleased plosive p/t/k. Southern Min in Fujian and Taiwan has generally developed a 7-tone system, but in different ways. The classical tone categories yīn qù and yáng qù have merged into one tone in Hui’an, as in Quanzhou. In Hui’an, the last morpheme or word in a word or phrase, usually retains its citation tone, while the preceding morpheme(s) or word(s) have to undergo tone sandhi unless the last morpheme or word is in a neutral tone. As with other varieties such as Xiamen and Taiwan, triplicated adjectives in Hui’an depart from the general tone sandhi rules, according to a different set. In addition, other reduplicated forms of adjectives in Hui’an also do not follow the general tone sandhi. Neutral tone falls into two types: (a) involving lexical items and (b) involving grammatical morphemes. The application of stress divides syllables in Hui’an into two main categories: (a) stressed and (b) unstressed. Stressed syllables are classified into three types: (a) stressed syllables which retain their citation tones; (b) syllables with contrastive stress which retain their citation tone contours with an increased intensity; and (c) the first syllable in a duplicated adjective whose tone changes to the mid-rising tone T2 (24) or the high level tone with a value of 55. Unstressed syllables also fall into three types: (a) unstressed syllables which undergo tone sandhi; (b) unstressed syllables whose tones are shorter and lighter than their citation tones, but retain their original
Summary | 21
tone contour, as opposed to contrastive stress syllables; and (c) unstressed syllables which are in neutral tone. Neutral tone is generally regarded as a result of syllables being unstressed. However, our classification of unstressed syllables may suggest that (a) unstressed syllables do not necessarily result in neutral tone; and (b) unstressed syllables are only one factor in the emergence of neutral tone.
| Part I: Nominal structure In this part, we examine the following aspects of nominal structure: affixation and compounding (chapter 3), pronouns (chapter 4), nominal demonstratives (chapter 5), numerals and quantifiers (chapter 6), classifiers (chapter 7) and possessive constructions (chapter 8). Chapter 4 focuses on personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns, reciprocal pronouns and words meaning ‘other, other people’, while demonstrative pronouns are examined separately under the heading of nominal demonstratives in chapter 5. Note, however, that in Hui’an there is no independent reciprocal pronoun, and the reciprocal meaning is encoded by the reciprocal prefix sa1 相.
3 Affixation and compounding 3.1 Introduction Morphology traditionally refers to the study of the internal structure of words. As with other Chinese varieties, words in Hui’an fall into two main categories: (a) simple words consisting of one free morpheme and (b) complex words consisting of at least two morphemes. Processes of complex word formation are traditionally classified into three types, that is, reduplication, affixation and compounding, of which, affixation and compounding are involved in noun formation in Hui’an.
3.2 Affixation 3.2.1 Prefixes Commonly used prefixes include a 阿, lau 老, sio3 小, tshue1 初 and te5 第, of which lau 老, sio3 小, tshue1 初 and te5 第 are similar to their counterparts, not only in other Southern Min varieties, but also in Mandarin Chinese. A description of the most commonly used prefix a 阿 is given in §3.2.1.1. Note that this prefix is realized with different tones when used with different morphemes. 1 Similarly, the prefix lau 老 is realized with different tones, as will be shown in §3.2.1.2. Other prefixes will be briefly mentioned in §3.2.1.3. 3.2.1.1 a-阿 in kinship terms and names The prefix a 阿 is normally used to form a kinship term or nickname, both of which (with a few exceptions, see below) function as address terms and reference terms. The kinship terms formed with a are listed in Table 3-1 below, noting that not all kinship terms are formed on this model.
|| 1 The reason for these tone differences requires further investigation. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-003
26 | Affixation and compounding
Tab. 3-1: Kinship terms with the prefix a 阿 a1kɔŋ1 阿公 ‘grandfather’
a1bã3 阿媽 ‘grandmother’
a1pa5 阿爸 ‘father’
a1bu3 阿母 ‘mother’
1
1
a kɔ 阿姑 ‘father’s sister’ 1
7
a peʔ 阿伯 ‘father’s elder brother’ a1tsiak7 阿叔 ‘father’s younger brother’
a1i2 阿姨 ‘mother’s sister’ a1ku4 阿舅 ‘mother’s brother’
a1m3 阿姆 ‘father’s elder brother’s wife’ a1kiǝm4 阿妗 ‘mother’s brother’s wife’ a1tsiǝm3 阿嬸 ‘father’s younger brother’s wife’ a1hiã1 阿兄 ‘elder brother’ a1ko1 阿哥 ‘elder brother’
a1tsi3 阿姊 ‘elder sister’
a1so3 阿嫂 ‘elder brother’s wife’
a1tiũ4 阿丈 ‘elder sister’s husband’
All the kinship terms in Table 3-1 are used as both address and reference terms. Among these terms, both a1hiã1 and a1ko1 are used to refer to ‘elder brother’. However, according to older native speakers, a1ko1 has come into use under the influence of Mandarin Chinese. Another point to be noted is that both a1pa5 ‘father’ and a1bu3 ‘mother’ are typically used by the older generation, while the younger generation tends to use pa2a0 爸仔 and bã2a0 媽仔 2 with the suffix a0 仔 (see §3.2.2.2) instead. These kinship terms with prefix a1 may also be followed by the diminutive suffix a3 仔 (see §3.2.2.1) when the addressee is not much older or even younger than the speaker. For example, if person A is in the same age group as person B, but has to call person B a1kɔ1 阿姑 ‘aunt’ according to their position in the family tree, then they use a1kɔ1a3 阿姑仔 instead of a1kɔ1, as both a term of address and a term of reference. Other kinship terms are not formed with the prefix a, such as sio3-2ti4 小弟 ‘younger brother’3, sio3-2tsiǝm3 小嬸 ‘(husband’s) younger brother’s wife’, sio3-2bǝ5 小妹 ‘younger sister’, bǝ5-4sai5 妹婿 ‘younger sister’s husband’, kɔ1tiũ4 姑丈 ‘father’s sister’s husband’ and i2-4tiũ4 姨丈 ‘mother’s sister’s husband’, among which sio3-2ti4, sio3-2tsiǝm3 and sio3-2bǝ5 use the prefix sio3 小 (see §3.2.1.3) instead of a1. The terms sio3-2tsiǝm3 and bǝ5-4sai5 are only used as a reference term, whereas others can be used as both a reference term and an address term. Besides constituting part of kinship terms, the prefix a can be used to form a nickname with a given name (when the given name has only one syllable) or the || 2 Note that the kinship term bã2 媽 ‘mother’ has come into use under the influence of Mandarin Chinese. 3 Note that a-ti 阿弟 ‘younger brother’ as a term of address can be attested in the Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou varieties of Southern Min (Zhou et al. 2006: 63).
Affixation | 27
last syllable of a given name (when the given name has more than one syllable). To briefly digress, Chinese names are composed of the family name followed by the given name which can be composed of one or two syllables, each representing a morpheme. For example, a girl named ɔŋ2-4 suat7-8buin2 王雪梅, in which ɔŋ2 王 and suat7-8buin2 雪梅 are the surname and the given name respectively, would usually have a nickname a1buin2 阿梅 in which buin2 is the last syllable of the given name suat7-8buin2. However, the first syllable of the given name, i.e. suat7 雪, can also be used for a nickname when the first syllable is considered to sound better or to be easier to pronounce than the last syllable: a1suat7 阿雪. A nickname may also be formed by the prefix a and the position of a person in the family tree, such as a3-2tua5 阿大, a3-2li5 阿二 and a1sã1 阿三, referring to a person who is the first, second and third child in a family, respectively. As with nicknames mentioned above, the nickname a1sã1 can be used as both an address term and a reference term, while a3-2tua5 and a3-2li5 with a different tone from a1 in a1sã1 are typically used as reference terms (see kinship terms above for the corresponding terms of address). A nickname may also consist of a1 combined with any noun desired, e.g. someone may be called a1kau3 阿狗 in which kau3 means ‘dog’, which is not associated with the person’s formal name. Nicknames such as a1kau3 usually involve people’s desire for their child to grow up healthy.4 However, nicknames of this type are uncommon nowadays. Besides kinship terms and nicknames, the prefix a1 can also be used with words indicating a characteristic of a person or a group of people to form a reference term. For example, a1pak7 阿北, usually followed by the diminutive suffix a3 仔, refers to someone who comes from the north. The terms formed with the prefix a discussed above, with the exception of a32 tua5 阿大, a3-2li5 阿二 and a1pak7-8a3 阿北仔, are used as both address and reference terms with exactly the same pronunciation a1. This is different from the Quanzhou variety, where the prefix a 阿 has to be pronounced respectively as a1 or a3 when used for address or reference terms (Wang and Zhang 1994:92). Wang and Zhang also mention that this prefix can be traced back to the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties Periods (BC 206 –AD 581).
|| 4 According to an earlier custom of Southern Min speakers, people believe that it is easier for children to grow up with a nickname formed by the prefix a1 and an animal name, especially in difficult times to ward off evil influences or bad luck, for example, not only a1 kau3 阿狗 (prefix + dog) but also a1 tɯ1 阿豬 (prefix + pig).
28 | Affixation and compounding
There is another prefix an1 安 used before some kinship terms such as kɔŋ1 公 ‘grandfather’ in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou (Zhang and Ouyang 1998: 266; Zhou et al. 2006:387), which is not found in Hui’an. 3.2.1.2 Prefix lau-老 The uses of the prefix lau 老, originally an adjective meaning ‘old’, are basically the same as the prefix lǎo 老 in Mandarin Chinese, that is, it can be used with the kinship terms pe4 爸 ‘father’ and bu3 母 ‘mother’, morphemes indicating persons or animals as in lau4sɯ1 老師 ‘teacher’ and lau3-2hɔ3 老虎 ‘tiger’, or a surname as in lau3-2tiũ1 老張 ‘Mr. Zhang’, or the position in the family tree as in lau3-2tua5 老大 ‘the first child’. This, however, is slightly different from its use in Taiwan Southern Min where the prefix lau2 老 normally precedes a surname or the position in a family tree, which has to be further followed by the suffix e0 , as in lau2 ong5 e0 老 王其 ‘Mr. Wang’ (Yang 1991: 163-164). Note that lau is realized as lau4 with a fourth tone when functioning as an adjective meaning ‘old’, or as a prefix in words such as lau4pe4 老爸 ‘father’, lau4bu3 老母 ‘mother’, lau4sɯ1 老師 ‘teacher’ and lau4bǝ3 老尾 ‘the last child’. However, lau is realized as lau3 with a third tone when functioning as an adjective meaning ‘experienced; long standing’, or as a prefix in words such as lau3-2pan3 老闆 ‘boss’, lau3-2hɔ3 老虎 ‘tiger’, lau3-2tiũ1 老張 ‘Mr. Zhang’ and lau3-2tua5 老大 ‘the first child’. 3.2.1.3 Other prefixes The prefix sio3 小 < ‘little, small’ can be followed by a noun as in sio3-2piŋ2-4iu3 小朋 友 ‘little friend’ and sio3-2tshia1 小 車 ‘car’, a kinship term as in sio3-2ti4 小 弟 ‘younger brother’ and sio3-2bǝ5 小妹 ‘younger sister’, or a surname as in sio3-2ɔŋ2 小 王 ‘Mr. Wang’. The prefix sio3 is also often used as the first syllable of a given name as in sio3-2ui3 小偉 and sio3-2en5 小燕 where ui3 and en5 mean ‘great’ and ‘swallow’, respectively. Like the prefix chū 初 < ‘beginning, first’ in Mandarin Chinese, the prefix tshue1 初 in Hui’an precedes the numerals et7 一 ‘one’ through tsap8 十 ‘ten’ to denote the first ten days of a lunar month. The prefix te5 第 < ‘order’ is followed by whole numbers to form ordinal numbers such as te5-4et7 第一 ‘first’ ( tshu5-3a3 厝仔 ‘small house’ uã3 碗 ‘bowl’ -> uã3-2a3 碗仔 ‘small bowl’ (ii) to form a disyllabic word with the function of a noun marker e.g. tǝ5 袋 ‘bag’ -> tǝ5-4a3 袋仔 ‘bag’ The morpheme tǝ5 usually cannot be used alone, so that the suffix cannot be treated as a diminutive here. In fact, to refer to a small bag, the disyllabic word tǝ5-4a3 ‘bag’ is normally preceded by sue5-3khia1 細奇 ‘small’ (consisting of the adjective sue5 ‘small’ and the classifier khia1), that is, to form the attributive phrase sue5-3khia1 tǝ5-4a3 細奇袋仔. In other words, the suffix a3 here can be regarded as a nominalizer or noun marker. Similar examples of noun formation can be found in haŋ4a3 巷仔 ‘alley’, lai2-4a3 梨仔 ‘pear’, tho2-4a3 桃仔 ‘peach’, bo5-4a3 帽仔 ‘hat’, and hi4a3 耳仔 ‘ear’. (iii) to refer to a different object e.g. thŋ2 糖 ‘sugar’ (noun) -> thŋ2-4a3 糖仔 ‘candy’ (noun) pau1 包 ‘bag’ (noun) -> pau1a3 包仔 ‘steamed stuffed bun’ (noun) Attached to ‘numeral + classifier’: to express ‘small’ When following ‘numeral + classifier’, a3 indicates that something is small in terms of size or length, etc. e.g. tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 baʔ7 蜀垛肉 ‘a piece of meat’ -> tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 a3-2 baʔ7 蜀垛仔肉 ‘a small piece of meat’ In this example, the suffix a3, preceded by the numeral tsit8 ‘one’ and the classifier tǝ5, means that the meat is small in size.
Affixation | 31
Attached to a verb (phrase): to form a noun e.g. giǝp7 夾 ‘nip’ (action verb) -> giǝp7-8a3 夾仔 ‘clamp’ (noun) thiʔ7-8thau2 剃頭 ‘cut hair’ (verb phrase) -> thiʔ7-8thau2-4a3 剃頭仔 ‘barber’ (noun) ue3 矮 ‘short’ (adjective) -> ue3-2a3 矮仔 ‘dwarf’ (noun) In this case, the suffix a3 changes the category of the base, and thus can be regarded as a nominalizer. In addition, the nouns, derived from a verb (phrase) followed by a3, indicating a kind of person, as in thiʔ7-8thau2-4a3 ‘barber’ above, usually express contempt when referring to other people, or function as humble forms when referring to speakers themselves. Attached to a reduplicated adjective: to form an adverb e.g. khen1-2khen1 輕輕 ‘light’ (adjective) -> khen1-2khen1a3 輕輕仔 ‘slightly’ (adverb) ban5-2ban5 慢慢 ‘slow’ (adjective) -> ban5-2ban5-4a3 慢慢仔 ‘slowly’ (adverb) Attached to a temporal word: exactness e.g. tsit7-8tsam4 即站 ‘now’ -> tsit7-8tsam4a3 即站仔 ‘just now’ hit7-8tsam4 迄站 ‘then’ -> hit7-8tsam4a3 迄站仔 ‘just then’ In these two examples, the suffix a3 follows the temporal words tsit7-8tsam4 ‘now’ and hit7-8tsam4 ‘then’ to denote an exact point in time. The suffix a3 can be classified into two subtypes, according to whether it can change the categorial property of the base: (a) The suffix a3 that changes the categorial property of the base, e.g. changes a verb (phrase) into a noun as in giǝp7 ‘nip’ (action verb) -> giǝp7-8a3 ‘clamp’ (noun), and changes a reduplicated adjective to an adverb as in khen1-2khen1 輕輕 ‘light’ (adjective) -> khen1-2khen1a3 ‘slightly’ (adverb). (b) The suffix a3 that does not change the categorial property of the base, e.g. a3 preceded by a noun such as tǝ5 ‘bag’, the complex [numeral + classifier] such as tsit8-4 tǝ5 ‘a piece of’, or a temporal word such as tsit7-8tsam4 ‘now’. Some of the elements that the suffix a3 follows can be independently used without a3, such as the complex [numeral + classifier] and temporal words, while other elements to which a3 attaches may not generally be used alone without a3, such as tǝ5 in tǝ5-4a3 袋仔. Jurafsky (1996) presents a detailed discussion of the synchronic and diachronic semantics of the diminutive category and proposes a universal structure for the semantics of the diminutive (see Figure 5 in Jurafsky (1996:542) for details). Following Jurafsky’s proposal, the sources of and relationships among the functions
32 | Affixation and compounding
of expressing ‘small’, ‘affection’, ‘contempt or modesty’ and ‘exactness’ can be represented as the following semantic changes. (i) child -> small -> contempt (or modesty) (ii) child -> small -> extactness (iii) child -> affection Although it is often written as 仔 in the literature of Southern Min, the suffix a3 is also represented by 囝 in earlier works such as Yang (1991), Chen (1997) and Li (2005a). In addition, several scholars have proposed that the source of this suffix is 囝, a noun meaning ‘child’ (cf. Chen 1997, Lien 1998, Li 2005a, among others). The character 囝 in Hui’an is pronounced as kã3, as in Quanzhou, but is pronounced as kiã3 in some other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen and Zhangzhou (Zhou 2006:524). In other words, the development from the noun kã3 to the suffix a3 involves phonological reduction (cf. Lien 1998). 3.2.2.2 Diminutive suffix a0 仔 The counterparts of this suffix in other Southern Min varieties such as Taiwan and Xiamen have been regarded as a separate suffix (cf. Yang 1991:167, Lu 1999:26-27), or as a weak form of the suffix a3 仔 (see §3.2.2.1 above) (cf. Yang 2000:117-119, Zhou 2006:65). The question arises as to whether the suffix a0 in Hui’an is a separate suffix or a weak form of a3 仔. As mentioned in §3.2.1.1, the younger generation uses pa2a0 and bã2a0 with the suffix a0 to refer to ‘father’ and ‘mother’, respectively. However, this suffix cannot be preceded by other kinship terms. This is different from Taiwan Southern Min where the suffix a0 can be placed after kinship terms such as ku7 舅 ‘mother’s brother’, i5 姨 ‘mother’s sister’ and so2 嫂 ‘brother’s wife’ (Lu 1999:27).5 As in Taiwan, a0 in Hui’an can also be used after the last syllable of a given name to form a nickname as in liŋ2a0 玲仔 ‘Ah Ling’, where the prefix a1 阿 can also be added before liŋ2 玲, that is, a1liŋ2a0 阿玲仔 ‘Ah Ling’. However, a0 in Taiwan takes on other functions, such as being preceded by a monosyllabic localizer to form a disyllabic one (pinn1a0 ‘side’), being preceded by a reduplicated adjective (e.g. phang1phang1a0 ‘fragrant’) or verb (e.g. chio3chio3a0 ‘with a smile’) to form an adjective or adverb (Lu 1999 6: 27; Yang 1991: 192). Even though a0 in Hui’an bears different functions from Taiwan, we tend to agree with Yang (2000:
|| 5 The romanization given here is based on Dong (2001). 6 Lu also mentions that a0 can be preceded by a reduplicated adverb to form a new adverb. However, no example is given, and such usage is not found in the Hui’an dialect.
Affixation | 33
117-119) and Zhou (2006: 65) that a0 is a weak form of the diminutive suffix a3 仔, since (a) a0 expresses intimacy and affection, which is one of the main functions of the suffix a3; and (b) the phenomenon that an affix has a weak form or is realized with different tones is not uncommon amongst the affixes in Hui’an, which can be supported by the prefixes a 阿 (§3.2.1.1) and lau 老 (§3.2.1.2), and the suffixes thau 頭 (§3.2.2.9). Thus, the character 仔 is also adopted for representing the suffix a0 in this book. 3.2.2.3 Suffix sai1 師 < ‘master’ This suffix typically changes the preceding verb phrase or noun into terms of respect referring to people who are skilled in a certain profession, as in khui1tshia1sai1 開車師 ‘driver’, thiʔ7-8thau2-4sai1 剃頭師 ‘barber’ and tau5-4hu5-4sai1 豆 腐師 ‘people who make bean curd’, in which both khui1 tshia1 ‘drive (vehicle)’ and thiʔ7-8 thau2 ‘cut hair’ are verb phrases in form, while tau5-4hu5 ‘bean curd’ is a disyllabic noun. However, there are also a few examples of derogratory terms with sai1 as a suffix, as in peʔ8-4tshat8-4sai1 白賊師 ‘people who like to lie, people who like to play tricks on other people’, and hɔŋ1ku1sai1 風龜師 ‘people who like to talk big’, in which peʔ8-4tshat8 can be a noun meaning ‘lie’, and hɔŋ1ku1 is a verb meaning ‘brag, talk big’. Note also that in the modern Hui’an dialect, the suffix sai1 tends to be replaced by the disyllabic word sai1hu4 師傅 ‘master’, which is the counterpart of shīfu 師傅 ‘master’ in Mandarin Chinese. Lien (2001) discusses their usage and semantics in terms of stratification for Taiwan Southern Min. 3.2.2.4 Suffix sen1 仙 < ‘celestial being, immortal’ Nouns formed by a noun or verb with the suffix sen1 may refer to people in a certain occupation or people who possess a certain skill, as in khuã5-3biã5-4sen1 看命 仙 ‘fortune-teller’ and kun2-4thau2-4sen1 拳頭仙 ‘boxer’, in which khuã5-3 biã5 is a verb phrase meaning ‘tell fortune’, and kun2-4thau2 is a noun meaning ‘fist’. These nouns (with the suffix sen1) tend to function as derogatory terms, unlike the nouns with the suffix sai1 such as thiʔ7-8thau2-4sai1 ‘barber’ mentioned above. The nouns with the suffix sen1 are more often used to refer to people who have a certain hobby, especially a bad hobby, as in sio1tsiu3-2sen1 燒酒仙 ‘wine bibber’ and puaʔ8-4kiau3-2sen1 跋繳仙 ‘hardened gambler’, in which sio1tsiu3 is a noun meaning ‘alcohol’ and puaʔ8-4kiau3 is a verb meaning ‘gamble’. 3.2.2.5 Suffix sen2 神 < ‘god, deity’ As with sai1 and sen1 above, the suffix sen2 can follow a verb or noun to form a noun referring to a kind of person, as in hɔŋ1ku1sen2 風龜神 ‘people who like to
34 | Affixation and compounding
talk big’ and peʔ8-4tshat8-4sen2 白賊神 ‘people who like to lie, people who like to play tricks on other people’. Comparatively speaking, the suffix sen2 is less used than sai1 and sen1. However, unlike sai1 and sen1, the suffix sen2 can follow a verb to form a noun denoting a state, as in tshio5-3sen2 笑神 ‘smile’, in which tshio5 is a verb meaning ‘laugh, smile’. 3.2.2.6 Suffix tsin1 精 < ‘spirit, demon’ The noun with the suffix tsin1 is always a derogatory term referring to a kind of person, as in ku1tsin1 龜精 ‘people who are crafty’ in which ku1 is originally a noun meaning ‘turtle’, and puaʔ8-4kiau3-2tsin1 跋繳精 ‘people who are good at gambling’. 3.2.2.7 Suffix tsiau3 鳥 < ‘bird’ The noun with the suffix tsiau3 is also usually a derogatory term referring to a kind of person, as in phai3-2tsiau3 否鳥 ‘bad egg, bad apple’ and puã5-3bin2-4tsiau3 半暝 鳥 ‘people who always return home or go out at midnight’7, in which, phai3 is an adjective meaning ‘bad’ and puã5-3bin2 is a noun meaning ‘midnight’. 3.2.2.8 Suffix kui3 鬼 < ‘ghost’ This suffix often follows an adjective to form a derogatory term referring to a kind of person, as in a1tsam1kui3 醃臢鬼 ‘people who are unhygienic’ and pan2-4tuã4kui3 貧惰鬼 ‘lazybones’, in which a1tsam1 and pan2-4tuã4 are adjectives meaning ‘dirty’ and ‘lazy’, respectively. There are also some examples of the suffix kui3 preceded by a verb or noun, as in hɔŋ1ku1kui3 風龜鬼 ‘people who like to talk big’ and tsiu32 kui3 酒鬼 ‘wine bibber’, respectively. 3.2.2.9 Suffix thau 頭 < ‘head’ The suffix thau 頭 in Hui’an can be preceded by a noun, an adjective, a localizer or an action verb. It typically functions as a noun marker or forms a disyllabic localizer by following a monosyllabic localizer. Here are some examples: (a) following a nominal morpheme, e.g. i3-2thau2 椅頭 ‘stool’ and tsha2-4thau2 柴 頭 ‘firewood’; (b) following an adjective, e.g. am5-3thau2 暗頭 ‘dusk’, in which am5 暗 is originally an adjective meaning ‘dark’; || 7 This term is used to refer to people who normally do not return home until midnight or people who like going out at midnight, contrasting with people who normally stay at home with their family at night.
Compounding | 35
(c) following an action verb to form a noun, e.g. tshaʔ7-8thau2 插頭 ‘plug’ and tui53 thau2 對頭 ‘both sides’, in which tshaʔ7 插 and tui5 對 are verbs meaning ‘insert’ and ‘face’, respectively; (d) following a monosyllabic localizer, e.g. bǝ3thau0 尾頭 ‘back’, tiɔŋ1thau0 中頭 ‘middle’ and pin1thau0 邊頭 ‘side’. The suffix thau preceded by an action verb is not reported in Xiamen (cf. Zhou and Ouyang 1998: 267).
3.3 Compounding The inner structures within nominal compounds in Hui’an can have the following three types of relation: coordinate, modifier-head/head-modifier, and subjectpredicate.
3.3.1 Coordinate This type of nominal compound typically involves two nominal or adjectival morphemes which refer to similar lexical domains, as in (1) and (2), respectively. (1)
衫褲 sã1-khɔ5 shirt-pant ‘clothes’
(2) 鹹口 kiǝm2-4-tsiã3 salty-tasteless ‘taste’ In (1), the nominal morphemes sã1 ‘shirt’ and khɔ5 ‘pant’ are juxtaposed to form the nominal compound sã1khɔ5 ‘clothes’. In (2), the adjectival morphemes kiǝm2 ‘salty’ and tsiã3 ‘tasteless’ are juxtaposed to form the nominal compound kiǝm24 tsiã3 ‘taste’.
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3.3.2 Modifier-head/head-modifier Two nominal morphemes can also form a modifier-head type of nominal compound, as in (3), where the nominal morpheme tshu5 厝 ‘house’ can be regarded as a modifier of the nominal morpheme tsu3 主 ‘host’. (3) 厝主 tshu5-3-tsu3 house-host ‘landlord’ The modifier-head type of nominal compound can also be formed by two morphemes of different parts of speech, as in (4) and (5). (4) 大儂 tua5-4-laŋ2 big-person ‘adult’ (5) 滾水 kun3-2-tsui3 boil-water ‘boiled water’ In (4), the adjective tua5 ‘big’ and the noun laŋ2 ‘person’ together form a nominal compound meaning ‘adult’. In (5), the verb kun3 ‘boil’ precedes the noun tsui3 ‘water’ to form the nominal compound kun3-2tsui3 ‘boiled water’. The head-modifier type is also attested in Hui’an, as in (6) and (7). (6) 鞋拖 ue2-4-thua1 shoe-pull ‘slippers’ (7) 豬母 tɯ1-bu3 pig-female ‘sow’
Summary | 37
In (6), the verb thua1 ‘pull’ can be regarded as a modifier of the noun ue2 ‘shoes’. In (7), bu3 ‘female’ can be interpreted as a modifier of the noun tɯ1 ‘pig’.
3.3.3 Subject-predicate As shown by the following example, the inner structures of nominal compounds in Hui’an can also have a subject-predicate relation. (8) 地震 te5-4-tsen3 earth-quake ‘earthquake’
3.4 Summary This chapter has focused on affixation and compounding involved in noun formation in Hui’an. We have first examined the two main prefixes a 阿 and lau 老 (< ‘old’), followed by a brief introduction to a further group of prefixes such as sio3 小 (< ‘little, small’) and tshue1 初 (< ‘beginning, first’), which share similar functions with their counterparts in both other Southern Min varieties and Mandarin Chinese. Next, we focused on the much larger set of suffixes, including a3/a0 仔 (< ‘child’), sai1 師 (< ‘master’) and thau 頭 (< ‘head’). Note that the prefixes a 阿 and lau 老, and the suffix thau 頭 are realized with different tones when attached to different sets of morphemes. We have also argued that the suffix a0 is actually a weak form of the diminutive suffix a3 仔. Finally, it was shown that the inner structure of nominal compounds in Hui’an involves three types of relation: coordinate, modifier-head/head-modifier and subject-predicate, which have been briefly illustrated by examples.
4 Pronouns 4.1 Introduction The term ‘pronoun’ is traditionally defined as a word that can stand for a noun, and is often used to refer to different paradigms of words such as personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, and demonstrative pronouns (Crystal 2008:391-392; Bhat 2004:1, among others). In this chapter, we will focus on personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns, reciprocal pronouns and words meaning ‘other, other people’ (i.e. the opposite of reflexive pronouns).
4.2 Personal pronouns The personal pronouns in Hui’an are shown in Table 4-1 below. Tab. 4-1: Personal pronouns in the Hui’an dialect
Singular
Plural
First-person
(g)ua3 我
(g)un3 阮 (exclusive) lan3㑑 (inclusive)
Second-person
lɯ3 汝
len3 恁
Third-person
1
i 伊
en1 𪜶
Cross-linguistically, the person marker can be formed by independent words, clitics, affixes, or be covert (i.e. zero forms) (Siewierska 2004:4, 16-39). This is also the reason why Siewierska (2004) adopts the term ‘person marker’ (and ‘person form’), instead of ‘personal pronoun’. In terms of the morpho-phonological form, all the person markers in Hui’an are independent personal pronouns, like Mandarin Chinese and other Chinese dialects. By ‘independent’, ‘free’ or ‘non-bound’ is intended here. It is clear that the Hui’an dialect is not rich in pronominal person markers. According to Siewierska (2004:2), Fijian has as many as 135 person forms, though there also exist languages which have fewer person markers than the Hui’an dialect, e.g. Madurese, an Austronesian language now mainly spoken in Java, has only two person markers. According to Table 4-1, the personal pronouns in Hui’an involve a three-way distinction, that is, first-person, second-person, and third-person. This is also https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-004
Personal pronouns | 39
true for most Chinese varieties. However, not all languages in the world have markers for all the persons. For example, some languages such as Basque do not have third-person markers and use demonstrative pronouns instead (Siewierska 2004:5-6). Note that kinship terms, and other forms such as occupational titles, can be used in place of pronouns for direct address, as is typical in Chinese. Some of these have been described in §3.2 above.
4.2.1 Singular personal pronouns 4.2.1.1 Syntactic distributions The singular personal pronouns in Hui’an can be used alone as a subject of a main clause, subordinate clause or relative clause, as illustrated by (1) and (2) below. (1)
我 感覺 我 無 愛 去 gua3 kam3-2kak7-8 gua3 bo2-4 ai5-3 khɯ5 1SG feel 1SG not.have like go ‘I don’t feel like going (there).’
(2) [汝 呣 穿] [迄領] lɯ3 m5-4 tshiŋ5 hit7-8-liã3 2SG not wear that-CL ‘the item (of clothing) that you don’t want to wear’ In (1), the first and second occurrences of gua3 ‘I’ are the subject of the main clause gua3 kam3-2kak7 and the subordinate clause gua3 bo2-4 ai5-3 khɯ5 ‘I don’t like going (there)’, respectively. In (2), the clause lɯ3 m5-4 tshiŋ5 ‘you don’t want to wear’ functions as a relative clause, modifying the demonstrative phrase hit7-8liã3 ‘that item of’ (see chapter 22 for details of relative clauses). In this case, the secondperson pronoun lɯ3 functions as a subject of a relative clause. The personal pronouns in the subject position illustrated by (1) and (2) can be omitted when they are sufficiently salient in the context to avoid any misunderstanding, as in kam32 kak7-8 bo2-4 ai5-3 khɯ5 ‘(I) don’t feel like going (there)’, where both occurrences of the first person pronoun gua3 are omitted. The subjects of imperative clauses are usually encoded by a second-person pronoun such as lɯ3 汝 in (3).
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(3) 汝 暗暝 過來 lɯ3 am5-3bin2 kǝ5lai0 2SG evening come.over ‘Come over tonight.’ The second-person subject in imperative clauses, such as lɯ3 in (3), is however usually omitted, since it is usually sufficiently salient in the context. The subject of an imperative clause can also be the first person, or even the third person. In these two cases, the subject usually cannot be omitted, since the second person is the default one as in (3) above. The following is an example of an imperative clause with a first-person subject. (4) 我 合 汝 做做 去 gua3 kaʔ7-8 lɯ3 tsue5-3tsue5 khɯ5 1SG COMT 2SG together go ‘Let me go with you.’ Example (4) is an imperative clause used to put forward a suggestion, and the first-person pronoun gua3 here functions as a subject. The singular personal pronouns can also be preceded by a preposition or verb, as in (5) – (7), that is, as an object complement. (5) 伊 其 骹 比 我 1 2-4 1 3-2 i e kha pi gua3 3SG GEN leg DMC 1SG ‘Her legs are shorter than mine.’
恰 khaʔ7-8 HMC
短 tǝ3 short
(6) 我 無 嫌 伊 gua3 bo2-4 hiǝm2 i0 1SG not.have dislike 3SG ‘I don’t dislike him.’ (7) 無 與 汝 bo2-4 khɔ5 lɯ0 not.have give 2SG ‘(I) didn’t give (it to) you.’ In (5), gua3 ‘I’ follows the comparative marker pi3 比 ‘compared to’, which is a preposition. In (6), i0 ‘he’ is preceded by the verb hiǝm2 嫌 ‘dislike’ functioning as
Personal pronouns | 41
its object. In (7), lɯ0 ‘you’ follows the ditransitive verb khɔ5 與 ‘give’ and functions as its indirect object. Note that the personal pronouns functioning as an object of a verb such as i0 and lɯ0 in (6) and (7) respectively are in a neutral tone, unless they are the semantic focus. For example, the pronoun i0 ‘he’ in (6) retains its citation tone if the speaker aims to emphasize that the person she does not dislike is ‘him’, rather than others. In addition, the personal pronouns in object position as in (5) – (7) tend to be overt, rather than to be omitted, unlike the personal pronouns in subject position as in (1) and (2) above. The following example shows that the singular personal pronoun can be connected to a noun via the genitive marker e2 其, forming a genitive construction (see §8.2.4). (8) 伊 其 意見 i1 e2-4 i5-3ken5 3SG GEN opinion ‘his opinion’ In (8), the third person singular pronoun i1 and the noun i5-3ken5 ‘opinion’ function as a possessor and possessee respectively, while e2 functions as a genitive marker linking the possessor and possessee. In this case, the personal pronoun cannot be omitted. A nominal demonstrative or noun phrase can directly follow the singular personal pronoun, as illustrated by (9) and (10). (9) 我 口 氣管炎 gua3 tse2 khi5-3kŋ3-2iǝm5 1SG this tracheitis ‘My kind (of disease) is tracheitis.’ (10) 汝 口 皮膚 合 食 藥 有 關係 lɯ3 tsat8-4 phǝ2-4hu1 kaʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8-4 ioʔ8 u4 kuan1he5 2SG this skin COMT eat medicine have connection ‘(The situation of) your skin has something to do with taking medicine.’ In (9), the personal pronoun gua3 together with the demonstrative tse2 functions as a subject, while the noun khi5-3kŋ3-2iǝm5 ‘tracheitis’ serves as a predicate in a classifying construction. In (10), the personal pronoun lɯ3 precedes the noun phrase tsat8-4 phǝ2-4hu1 ‘this skin’. These two examples also express possession.
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However, the personal pronouns functioning as a possessor in these two examples, i.e. gua3 and lɯ3, can be omitted, when they are sufficiently salient in the context, unlike the pronoun i1 in example (8) above. The singular personal pronouns can be followed by ‘numeral + classifier’, as in (11). (11) 我 兩 個 計 𣍐 讀冊 3 4 2 5-3 4 gua lŋ e ke bue thak8-4tsheʔ7 1SG two CL all cannot study ‘Neither of my two (kids) are good at studying.’ In (11), lŋ4 e2 ‘two (kids)’, consisting of the numeral lŋ4 ‘two’ and the classifier e2, is preceded by the personal pronoun gua3 ‘I’ to express possession. The noun ken32 3 a 囝仔 ‘child, kid’ can be added after lŋ4 e2. The singular personal pronouns can also be followed by a reflexive pronoun such as kai5-4ki5 家己 in (12), or by a locative word such as hit7-8taʔ7 迄搭 ‘there’ in (13). Personal pronouns in these two positions can also be omitted, if they are sufficiently salient in the context. (12) 我 家己 gua3 kai5-4ki5 1SG self ‘myself’ (13) 汝 迄搭 lɯ3 hit7-8-taʔ7 2SG that-LOC ‘your place’ The first-person singular pronoun gua3 and the third-person singular pronoun i1 can occur with the pronoun laŋ4 儂 ‘other’, as exemplified by (14) and (15). (14) 儂 我 呣 愛 食 gua3 m5-4 ai5-3 tsiaʔ8 laŋ4 other 1SG not like eat ‘I don’t like to eat (it).’
Personal pronouns | 43
(15) 儂 伊 卜 綴 㑑 laŋ4 i1 boʔ7-8 tǝ5-3 lan3 other 3SG want follow 1PL ‘He wants to follow us.’ The pronoun laŋ4 ‘other’ is originally used to refer to a third party excluding the speaker and the hearer(s). In (14), however, laŋ4 is used with the first-person singular pronoun gua3 to form an appositive construction referring to the speaker him/herself. In (15), the third-person singular pronoun i1 preceded by laŋ4 refers to a third party. The appositive constructions laŋ4 gua3 and laŋ4 i1 usually occur in clause-initial position. Wang and Zhang (1994:134) provide an example of the second-person singular pronoun following laŋ4 ‘other’ in Quanzhou, in which the pronoun laŋ4 is coreferential with the second-person pronoun. This is not totally unacceptable in Hui’an, but cannot be found in our spoken data. This at least suggests that the second-person singular pronoun with laŋ4 ‘other’ is much less prevalent than the first- and third-person singular pronouns. To sum up briefly, the singular personal pronouns can not only be used alone as a subject, an object complement, or a possessor, but can also be used with a reflexive pronoun, a locative word or the pronoun laŋ4 ‘other’. 4.2.1.2 Referential functions The basic pragmatic function of singular personal pronouns in Hui’an is for reference. For example, gua3 ‘I’ is used by the speaker to refer to him/herself, while lɯ3 ‘you’ is used to refer to the hearer(s) to whom the speaker is talking, and i1 refers to the third party including person(s) and thing(s). The third party that the pronoun i1 refers to is usually singular, as shown by the examples given above. In daily conversation, the pronoun i1 can also refer to a category of person, as in (16), or even refer to plural entities, as in (17). (16) 男其 伊 無 抹 lam2-e0 i1 bo2-4 buaʔ7 male-NMLZ 3SG not.have smear ‘As for men, they don’t use (skin products).’ (17) 㑑 也 著 綴 伊 3 4 8-4 5-3 lan a tioʔ tǝ i1 1PL also should follow 3SG ‘We also need to follow their (habits).’
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In (16), i1 refers to its preceding noun lam2e0 ‘men’ which defines a category of person. The noun lam2e0 does not form a noun phrase with il since the pronoun il cannot be the head of a noun phrase, that is, cannot be modified. In fact, lam2e0 and i1 function as the topic and subject, respectively. The context of (17) concerns family members who are discussing marriage traditions, since one of them is going to get married to a man who lives in another place with different marriage traditions, and so the father points out that they will have to follow the marriage traditions of the other family in this case. The pronoun i1 here refers to the other family, rather than a certain person. Note that i1 is used, since, in both cases, it refers to a group of persons regarded as a whole unit, that is, to a kind of person: lam2e0 ‘men’ in (16) or to another family in (17). Zhou (2006:24) also mentions that the personal pronoun i1 in Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou sometimes can be “temporarily” used as a third-person plural pronoun. Besides a person, the third-person singular pronoun i1 can refer to a thing, while gua3 and lɯ3 can only refer to a person. Yang (1991:216) points out that in Taiwan Southern Min, the pronoun i1 referring to a thing, can only be used in object position, but not subject position. This is basically true of i1 in Hui’an. However, we find that i1 in Hui’an can in fact be used in this way in a subject/topic position when followed or preceded by a demonstrative, noun or noun phrase. The following is an example of the pronoun i1 followed by a noun phrase containing a demonstrative. (18) [伊] [迄個 水空] 伫咧 半中間 1 7-8 2-4 3-2 1 4 7-8 i hit -e tsui khaŋ tɯ leʔ puã5-3-tiɔŋ1uin1 3SG that-CL drain be.at half-middle ‘That drain is in the middle.’ In (18), the pronoun i1 is followed by the noun phrase hit7-8e2-4 tsui3-2khaŋ1 ‘that drain’ to form an appositive construction to make it clear to the hearer(s) what the speaker is talking about. The pronoun i1 thus refers unequivocally to its following noun phrase hit7-8e2-4 tsui3-2khaŋ1 which denotes an inanimate object. The string i1 hit7-8e2-4 tsui3-2khaŋ1 as a whole cannot be used in an object position unless il is regarded as denoting a person, which suggests that i1 hit7-8e2-4 tsui3-2khaŋ1 in (18) does not form a noun phrase.
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4.2.2 Plural personal pronouns In terms of syntactic distributions, plural personal pronouns have much in common with singular ones. One difference is that the plural ones are more often directly followed by a noun without the genitive marker e2 to form a genitive construction (see §8.2.1.1), in which case, plural pronouns can have singular meanings, as in (19). (19) 阮 小妹 gun3-2 sio3-2bǝ5 1PL Y.sister ‘my/our little sister’ In (19), the noun sio3-2bǝ5 ‘little sister’ directly follows the exclusive first-person plural pronoun gun3 ‘we’ without the genitive marker e2. The pronoun gun3 here may be interpreted as a plural one (i.e. ‘we’) or a singular one (i.e. ‘I’), depending on the context. Note that the latter interpretation is more common in daily conversation. Another difference is that the plural pronouns, when followed by ‘numeral + classifier’, are not restricted to a possessive interpretation, as illustrated by (20). (20) 𪜶 兩 個 計 大學生 en1 lŋ4 e2 ke5-3 tua5-4oʔ8-4siŋ1 3PL two CL all university.student a.‘His/Their two (kids) are both university students.’ b.‘The two of them are both university students.’ In (20), the third-person plural pronoun en1 followed by lŋ4 e2 ‘two’ can be interpreted as expressing possession, that is, meaning ‘his/their two (kids)’, or can be interpreted as an appositive construction meaning ‘the two of them’. Note that there is usually a pause between the pronoun en1 and lŋ4 e2 ‘two’ in the former interpretation, but not in the latter interpretation. As shown in Table 4-1 above, the Hui’an dialect has a distinction between exclusive ‘we’ and inclusive ‘we’, as in (21) and (22), where gun3 in (21) excludes the person being spoken to, whereas lan3 in (22) includes the person being spoken to.
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(21) 伊 綴 阮 做做 上 i1 tǝ5-3 gun3-2 tsue5-3tsue5 siɔŋ5 3SG follow 1PL together take ‘She takes lectures with us.’ (22) 𪜶 卜 做做 來 㑑搭 en1 boʔ7-8 tsue5-3tsue5 lai2-4 lan3-taʔ7 3PL want together come 1PL-LOC ‘They want to come to our place together.’ However, in daily conversation, the referential functions of these two plural pronouns, especially the inclusive one, are more complicated. As mentioned above, the plural personal pronouns functioning as possessors in genitive constructions can have singular meanings, as in examples (19) and (20) above. The following two examples illustrate that the pronouns gun3 and lan3 can have a singular meaning when functioning as a subject or an object. (23) 阮 呣 愛 去 gun3 m5-4 ai5-3 khɯ5 1PL not like go a. ‘I don’t want to go (there).’ b. ‘We don’t want to go (there)’ (24) 伊 無 與 㑑 i1 bo2-4 khɔ5 lan0 3SG not.have give 1PL a. ‘He didn’t give (it) to us.’ b. ‘He didn’t give (it) to me.’ In (23), the pronoun gun3 functioning as a subject can have a singular meaning, as shown in (23a), or have a plural meaning, as shown in (23b). In (24), the pronoun lan0, functioning as an object of the verb khɔ5 ‘give’, is usually interpreted as referring to a group of persons as shown in (24a), but sometimes can also refer to the speaker him/herself, as shown in (24b). The pronoun lan3 can also sometimes be used like gun3 as in (25), or refer to the hearer(s), as in (26).
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(25) 伊 共 㑑 相共 搬 i1 ka5-4 lan3-2 saŋ1-kaŋ5-4 puã1 3SG for 1PL RECP-help move ‘He helped us move.’ (26) 㑑 早 無 摕 lan3 tsa3 bo2-4 thueʔ8 1PL before not.have take ‘You didn’t take (the money) before.’ The context for (25) is one where a mother is telling her sister that someone helped them move, and lan3 here refers to the family of mother, not including her sister who belongs to another family. The pronoun lan3 is used maybe because the mother in question takes her sister as a family member to convey an intimate feeling. The context of (26) is of a daughter persuading her parents to accept her money, so lan3 here refers to the hearers, i.e. her parents. These uses of lan3 as mentioned above can also be found for the inclusive first-person pronouns in Taiwan and in Beijing (Cheng 1997h:3-10). Cheng (1997h:7) suggests three reasons why the inclusive first-person pronoun is used, while in terms of the real world knowledge, it is the exclusive first-person pronoun that would be normally expected for referring to the hearer(s): (a) the speaker wants to show his/her loving care for the hearer(s) or wants to please the hearer(s); (b) to create an intimate feeling; and (c) the speaker wants to lessen the distance with the hearer(s). We suggest that, in examples (25) and (26), the use of lan3 may also be a natural and sincere expression of an intimate feeling of warmth on the part of the speaker, that is, there is no distinction between you and me, self and others, or us and others in the speaker’s mind, and it is not necessarily deliberately used to lessen the distance with the hearer(s) or to please the hearer(s), as Cheng suggests. Unlike lan3, the use of the second-person plural pronoun len3 ‘you’ is much simpler, that is, it only refers to the hearers, or the hearer him/herself, or the hearer and other persons in the hearer’s group, without other extensions. An example is given in (27). (27) 恁 大儂 家己 去 講 3 5-4 2 5-4 5 5-3 len tua laŋ kai ki khɯ kaŋ3 2PL adult self go say ‘You adults discuss (it) yourselves.’
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The context of example (27) is that a daughter is suggesting to her parents and her boyfriend’s parents to discuss the marriage arrangement themselves. In fact, her boyfriend’s parents are not present when the conversation occurs. Thus, the second person plural pronoun len3 is used to refer to the hearers, that is, her parents, and her boyfriend’s parents who are not on the spot, but considered as members of the hearers’ group. The third-person plural pronoun en1 ‘they’ basically refers to a third party including one person and a group of persons, which means, unlike the third-person singular pronoun i1, en1 usually refers to people, but not things. However, as with i1, the pronoun en1 can also refer to its preceding noun(phrase), that is, be used anaphorically, as in (28). (28) 阿舅 阿姨 𪜶 底時 來 a1-ku4 a1-i2 en1 ti4si2 lai2 PREF-uncle PREF-aunt 3PL when come ‘When will uncle and aunt come (here)?’ In (28), the pronoun en1 is co-referential with a1ku4 a1i2 ‘uncle and aunt’. Note that a1ku4 a1i2 en1 here can be regarded as an appositive noun phrase, since a1ku4 a1i2 en1 as a whole can be used in an object position, as in (29), where a1ku4 a1i2 en1 functions as an object of the verb hi3-2huã1 喜歡 ‘like’. (29) 我 無 喜歡 阿舅 阿姨 𪜶 3 2-4 3-2 1 1 4 1 2 gua bo hi huã a -ku a -i en1 1SG not.have like PREF-uncle PREF-aunt 3PL ‘I don’t like uncle and aunt.’ As for the source of plural personal pronouns (other than the inclusive first-person plural) in Southern Min, two kinds of proposal have been put forward in the literature: (a) these pronouns are formed by adding an ending [n] after the singular personal pronouns, e.g. gua3 我 ‘I’ + [-n] -> guan3 阮 ‘we’ (e.g. Wang and Zhang 1994:86, Yang 1991:216); and (b) these pronouns are contracted forms of the singular personal pronouns and laŋ2 儂 ‘person’ (e.g. Li 1999:265, Mei 2002:5). Wang and Zhang (1994:86) also observe that proposal (b) is plausible. Interestingly, the plural personal pronouns formed by the singular forms with laŋ2 儂 can still be found in some Southern Min varieties such as Shantou (Shi 1999:291). In fact, proposal (a) can be regarded as a surface observation in phonetic form, while (b)
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explains how the surface observation, as shown by (a), comes about. These observations and explanations are applicable to the Hui’an dialect, though the phonetic forms are not exactly the same.
4.3 Reflexive pronouns Semantically speaking, the reflexive pronoun refers to somebody him/herself, as opposed to other people. The main reflexive pronoun in Hui’an is kai5-4ki5 家己 ‘self’ (cf. Quanzhou kai5-4ki5 and Xiamen ka1-6ki6 (Zhou 2006:55), Taiwan ka1ki7 (Yang 1991:216)1. The reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5 can be further preceded by a personal pronoun, such as gua3 kai5-4ki5 ‘myself’ and en1 kai5-4ki5 ‘themselves’, as will be shown in the following examples. The basic function of reflexive pronouns is their anaphoric use. For example, kai5-4ki5 (with or without a preceding personal pronoun), functioning as a direct object of a verb (or a modifier of the direct object of a verb), can anaphorically refer to the subject of the same verb, as in (30) and (31). (30) 伊 罵 (伊)家己 1 5-4 i bã (i1) kai5-4ki5 3SG scold (3SG) self ‘He scolded himself.’ (31) 我 無 看 著 (我)家己 其 包 gua3 bo2-4 khuã5-3 tioʔ8-4 (gua3) kai5-4ki5 e2-4 pau1 1SG not.have look PVC (1SG) self GEN bag ‘I didn’t see my own bag.’ In (30), the reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5 (or i1 kai5-4ki5 ‘himself’), functioning as a direct object of the verb bã5 ‘scold’, is co-referential with the subject i1 伊. In (31), kai5-4ki5 (or gua3 kai5-4ki5 ‘myself’), functioning as a modifier of the noun pau1 ‘bag’ (the direct object of the verb phrase khuã5-3 tioʔ8), refers back to the subject gua3 我.
|| 1 The Hui’an and Quanzhou forms diverge from Xiamen/Taiwan in both segmental form (kai vs. ka) and tone (5 vs. 1). The tone probably indicates that kai5 originated through fusion of the syllable ka with ki5 (see §2.5 for syllable fusion).
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The reflexive pronouns can also occur in a subordinate clause, as illustrated by (32), where the reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5 (or i1 kai5-4ki5) in the subordinate clause is used to refer back to the subject of the main clause, that is, the first i1. (32) 伊 感覺 (伊)家己 無 kam3-2kak7-8 (i1) kai5-4ki5 bo2-4 i1 3SG feel (3SG) self not.have ‘He felt that he didn’t work hard enough.’
夠 努力 kau5-3 lɔ4liak8 enough endeavour
The reflexive pronouns can be used alone without their antecedents, as in (33) and (34). (33) 卜 拍 我, 舂 著 (伊)家己 tioʔ8-4 (i1) kai5-4ki5 boʔ7-8 phaʔ7-8 gua3 tsiŋ1 want hit 1SG strike PVC (3SG) self ‘He wanted to hit me, but hit himself.’ (34) 感覺 家己 有 失 身份 kam3-2kak7-8 kai5-4ki5 u4 set7-8 sen1hun5 feel self have lose dignity ‘He felt that he lost his dignity.’ In (33), kai5-4ki5 (or i1 kai5-4ki5), functioning as a direct object of the verb phrase tsiŋ1 tioʔ8, is used to refer back to the omitted subject i1 伊. The context of example (34) is that people are discussing the behavior of one participant of the conversation. The pronoun kai5-4ki5 here is used to refer to this participant, that is, it refers to one of the people who are present when the conversation happens. The antecedent of kai5-4ki5 in this example is covert. Note that kai5-4ki5 is also used as an intensifier, that is, there is no formal difference between the reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5 and the intensifier kai5-4ki5 (see König and Gast 2002 for the distinction between these two categories). The intensifier kai5-4ki5 can follow a personal pronoun (or noun phrase) to form an appositive construction to emphasize the personal pronoun (or noun phrase). Examples are given in (35) and (36). (35) 我 家己 卜 讀 gua3 kai5-4ki5 boʔ7-8 thak8 1SG self want study ‘I myself want to study.’
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(36) 卜 創 甚物, boʔ7-8 tshɔŋ5-3 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 want do what 兩 家 儂 家己 講 (目賣) lŋ4 ke1 laŋ2 kai5-4ki5 kaŋ3-2 bai5 two family person self say TENT ‘As for what (we) want to do, (our) two families try to discuss it by ourselves.’ In (35), kai5-4ki5 follows the personal pronoun gua3 ‘1SG’ to emphasize that it is I, myself, who has decided to study. In (36), kai5-4ki5 is preceded by the noun phrase lŋ4 ke1laŋ2 ‘two families’ to emphasize that the main participant of the discussion is the two families. The intensifier kai5-4ki5 can also modify a verb expressing the manner of an action, as shown by (37) and (38). (37) 家己 試 (目賣) kai5-4ki5 tshi5-3 bai5 self try TENT ‘Try by yourself.’ (38) 兩 個 有 相口 來 抑是 家己 來 lŋ4 e2 u4 sa1tshua5-4 lai2 aʔ8-4-si4 kai5-4ki5 lai2 two CL have RECP-lead come or-be self come ‘They two came together or (he) came alone?’ In (37), kai5-4ki5, modifying the verb phrase tshi5-3 bai5 ‘have a try’, means ‘try by yourself, without the help of others’. In (38), kai5-4ki5 modifies the verb lai2 ‘come’ to express ‘come alone, without a companion’. The intensifier kai5-4ki5 in examples (35) – (38) can be simply substituted by 5 kai . In other words, kai5 alone can be used as an intensifier, which may be a weak form of kai5-4ki5. Note that in other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwan, the reflexive pronoun and intensifier 家己 is pronounced as KA KI , rather than KAI KI. This may suggest that kai5 in Hui’an (also in Quanzhou) is a fused form of KA KI. Nonetheless, further investigation would be needed to clarify this diachronic issue.
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4.4 Reciprocal pronouns There is no independent reciprocal pronoun in Hui’an, and the reciprocal meaning is encoded by the reciprocal prefix sa1 相, as in (39) where sa1 is attached to the verb phaʔ7 拍 ‘hit’, or by the reciprocal adverb hɔ5-4siɔŋ1 互相 ‘mutually’, as in (40) where hɔ5-4siɔŋ1 modifies the verb phrase bo2-4 li3-2kai3 無理解 ‘do not understand’. (39) 相拍 sa1-phaʔ7 RECP-hit ‘fight with each other’ (40) 互相 無 理解 hɔ5-4siɔŋ1 bo2-4 li3-2kai3 mutually not.have understand ‘(They) don’t understand each other.’ Note that sa1 相 is much more widely used than hɔ5-4siɔŋ1 互相, the latter preferentially used by the younger generation.
4.5 The pronouns laŋ4 ‘other’ and pat8-4laŋ2 ‘other people’ Like the personal pronouns mentioned above, in terms of syntax, the pronoun laŋ4 can be (a) used as a subject; (b) preceded by a preposition or verb; (c) found in genitive constructions where the genitive marker e2 其 is needed; and can be (d) followed by a demonstrative or noun phrase. As mentioned in §4.2.1.1, laŋ4 can also be (e) followed by a personal pronoun. Semantically, laŋ4 can refer to a third party excluding the speaker and the hearer(s) in general, as in (41), or a thing in general, as in (42). (41) 儂 計 卜 共 恁 借 錢 4 5-3 7-8 5-4 3-2 7-8 laŋ ke boʔ ka len tsioʔ tsin2 other all want from 2PL borrow money ‘People all want to borrow money from you.’
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(42) 儂 橙 食 𣍐 否 laŋ4 tshiaŋ2 tsiaʔ8 bue4 phai3 other orange eat cannot bad ‘Eating oranges is not bad.’ In (41), laŋ4 refers to a third party without specific person(s) being intended. In (42), laŋ4 is coreferential with its following generic noun tshiaŋ2 橙 ‘orange’, and signals thereby that a noun denoting a thing, and not a person, is required to follow laŋ4 . Note that laŋ4 referring to a third party in a general way as in (41) is pronounced as laŋ2, its original tonal value which now can only be found in idioms, as in (43). (43) 拍 儂 家己 吼 phaʔ7-8 laŋ2 kai5-4ki5 hau3 hit other self cry ‘Hit another, and cry oneself.’ Example (43) literally means that someone hits another person but cries themselves. Two possibilities are involved here: (a) they cry because they are scared after hitting someone else; (b) they cry in order to avoid punishment to induce the parents to think it is their own child who has been hit. In this example, the pronoun referring to a third party in a general way is pronounced as laŋ2 (with a second tone, rather than a fourth tone). The morpheme laŋ2 儂 is originally a generic noun meaning ‘person, human being’ and has a sandhi form ‘laŋ4’. In other words, the sandhi form of the noun laŋ2 is used to distinguish the meaning of ‘other’ from the meaning of ‘person, human being’, of which the former is an extension (see also Li 1999:267). The following examples show that, when referring to a third party, laŋ4 can also be used for specific reference, that is, refer to specific person(s) and thing(s). (44) 汝 去, 儂 也 呣 別 汝 3 5 4 4 5-4 7 lɯ khɯ laŋ a m pat lɯ0 2SG go other also Not know 2SG ‘She won’t know you, if you go (there).’ (45) 等 儂 說 清楚 tan3-2 laŋ4 sǝʔ7-8 tshiŋ1tshɔ3 wait other say clear ‘wait for them to make (it) clear’
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(46) 儂 㑑 口 相機 也佫 laŋ4 lan3 hat8-4 siɔŋ5-3ki1 a4koʔ7-8 other 1PL that camera fairly ‘Our camera is quite O.K.’
泛泛 ham5-3ham5 OK
(47) 儂 懷 厝 卜 起 了 咯 laŋ4 huai2 tshu5 boʔ7-8 khi3-2 liau3 lɔ0 other those house want build finish SFP ‘Those houses are going to be finished.’ The pronoun laŋ4 in (44) and (45) refers cataphorically to a specific person and a specific group of people, respectively. In (46) and (47), laŋ4 refers to the referents of its following noun phrases, i.e. lan3 hat8-4 siɔŋ5-3ki1 ‘our camera’ and huai2 tshu5 ‘those houses’, respectively, which are specific in the given context. The pronoun laŋ4 alone can also be associated with a fourth party as in (48), since a third party encoded by i1 伊 exists in the context. It may also refer to the speaker him/herself as in (49). (48) 儂 卜 與 伊 其 4 7-8 5-4 1 laŋ boʔ khɔ i e0 other want give 3SG FOC ‘It is him to whom that person wants to give (it).’ 呣 愛 去 (49) 汝 家 去, 儂 lɯ3 kai5-4 khɯ5 laŋ4 m5-4 ai5-3 khɯ5 2SG self go other not like go ‘You go (there) by yourself; I don’t want to go (there).’ In (48), besides the speaker and the hearer, i1 and laŋ4 are used to denote a third party and a fourth party, respectively. The pronoun laŋ4 is also preferred in the following two circumstances: (a) when the identity of the person(s) is not so important, as in (50) (50) 口 是 儂 咧 共 阮 唱 tse2 si4 laŋ4 leʔ7-8 ka5-4 gun3-2 tshiũ5-3 this be other PROG BEN 1PL sing ‘This is (when) the person was singing for us.’
歌 kua1 song
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In (50), the speaker is showing her parents one of her pictures taken during her travels, in which someone is singing for her and her friends. The speaker uses laŋ4 to refer to that person since who they are is not important. (b) when the speaker does not want to talk about someone directly, as in (51) (51) 儂 也 無 說 口 是 laŋ4 a4 bo2-4 sǝʔ7-8 hat8 si4 other also not.have say that be ‘He didn’t say that is my home.’
阮 厝裡 gun3 tshu5-3-lai4 1PL house-inside
In (51), the person encoded by laŋ4 is actually on the spot when the conversation happens. However, the speaker deliberately uses laŋ4 to avoid explicitly referring to that person. This is an example of using laŋ4 to refer to a third party indirectly. In fact, the use of laŋ4 to refer to the speaker himself as in (49) above can also be sometimes regarded as a way of avoiding referring to the speaker himself directly. The pronoun pat8-4laŋ2 別儂 ‘other people’ is the opposite in meaning to the reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5 家己 ‘self’, as in (52). (52) 無 別儂, 阿姨 家己 2-4 8-4 2 1 2 pat -laŋ a -i kai5-4ki5 bo not.have other-person PREF-aunt self ‘There is nobody else here, only me, auntie.’ As illustrated by (52), the use of pat8-4laŋ2 is very straightforward, that is, it is typically used together with the reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5, while laŋ4 has more complex functions as mentioned above. Another difference between pat8-4laŋ2 and laŋ4 is that pat8-4laŋ2 generally refers to a group of persons, whereas laŋ4 may also refer to one person, that is, it can have a singular meaning. According to Lü (1985:90), in the history of Chinese, there mainly exist four words meaning ‘other’ and involving rén 人 ‘person’: rén 人, rénjiā 人家, biérén 別人 and biérénjiā 別人家. Among these, rén means ‘other’ and functions as the opposite of jĭ 己 ‘self’. For example, in the Classical Chinese text of Lun Yu 論語, there are nine instances of rén ‘other’ co-occurring in the same context with jĭ ‘self’, while rénjiā, biérén and biérénjiā are used in later periods to contrast with zìjĭ 自己, the disyllabic form for ‘self’ (Lü 1985:90-91). Among modern Chinese dialects, Min mainly uses the counterpart of rén ‘other’, while Wu, Gan and Hakka mainly use the counterparts of rénjiā, biérén and biérénjiā (cf. Li and Chang 1999), which may suggest that Min preserves earlier characteristics of Chinese than the other three Chinese dialects for this feature.
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4.6 Summary This chapter focuses on personal pronouns, reflexive pronouns, reciprocal pronouns and words meaning ‘other, other people’. The personal pronouns involve a three-way distinction, that is, first-person, second-person, and third-person. Unlike the first- and second-person singular pronouns (gua3 and lɯ3) which only refer to a person, the third-person singular pronoun i1 can refer to a person or thing. When referring to a thing, the pronoun i1 can be used not only in object position, but also in subject/topic position when followed or preceded by a demonstrative, noun or noun phrase. There is a distinction between exclusive ‘we’ and inclusive ‘we’. The plural person pronouns in general can have singular meanings when they function as possessors in genitive constructions. Similarly, both the exclusive gun3 ‘we’ and the inclusive lan3 ‘we’ can have a singular meaning when functioning as a subject or an object. The inclusive lan3 ‘we’ can also sometimes be used like the exclusive gun3, or refer to the hearer(s). The main reflexive pronoun is kai5-4ki5 家己 ‘self’, whose basic function is its anaphoric use. The pronoun kai5-4ki5 is also used as an intensifier, that is, there is no formal difference between the reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5 and the intensifier kai5-4ki5. There is no independent reciprocal pronoun, and the reciprocal meaning is encoded by the reciprocal prefix sa1 相, or by the reciprocal adverb hɔ5-4siɔŋ1 互相 ‘each other’. The pronoun laŋ4 ‘other’ has its source in laŋ2, a noun with a different tonal value meaning ‘person, human being’. In other words, the sandhi form of the noun laŋ2 is used to distinguish the meaning of ‘other’ from the meaning of ‘person, human being’, of which the former is an extension. The pronoun pat8-4laŋ2 別儂 ‘other people’ is the opposite in meaning to the reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5 家 己 ‘self’.
5 Nominal demonstratives 5.1 Introduction The term ‘demonstrative’ is traditionally used to refer to a class of items whose function is to point to an entity in the situation or elsewhere in a sentence (cf. Crystal 2008: 135). In English, for example, the demonstratives include this/that and their plural forms these/those, which serve as independent pronouns, as in (1), or co-occur with a noun, as in (2). (1)
This tastes good.
(2) That bag is mine. The demonstrative this in (1) is used alone as an independent pronoun, whereas the demonstrative that in (2) is used to modify the following noun bag. Based on these two different syntactic functions, the demonstratives in English are traditionally called ‘demonstrative pronouns’ and ‘demonstrative adjectives/determiners’, respectively (cf. Thomson, 1986:14; Greenbaum, 1996:195; Downing & Locke, 2006:414, 424; Crystal, 2008:135, among others). Unlike its traditional usage, the term ‘demonstrative’ is thus used in a broader way in studies such as Lyons (1977), Diessel (1999) and Dixon (2003). Besides demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives as in examples (1) and (2) above, the adverbs such as here and there in English are also grouped among the demonstratives and called ‘demonstrative adverbs’ in Lyons (1977:646).1 Diessel (1999:3-5) distinguishes the distribution and categorical status of demonstratives and puts forward the following four different syntactic contexts in which demonstratives may occur: (a) Pronominal
|| Note: A preliminary version of this chapter also appeared in Chen (2013). || 1 Diessel (1999:2) takes a similar line on the scope of the demonstrative: ‘Many studies confine the notion of demonstrative to deictic expressions such as English this and that, which are used either as independent pronouns or as modifiers of a co-occurring noun, but the notion that I will use is broader. It subsumes not only demonstratives being used as pronouns or noun modifiers but also locational adverbs such as English here and there’. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-005
58 | Nominal demonstratives
Demonstratives are used as independent pronouns in argument positions of verbs and adpositions, such as English this in example (1) above. (b) Adnominal Demonstratives co-occur with a noun in a noun phrase, such as English that in example (2). (c) Adverbial e.g. the locational adverbs here and there in English (d) Identificational Many languages use special demonstrative forms in copular and nonverbal clauses to identify a referent in the speech situation, as in (3), an example from French. (3) C’ est Pascal. this/it is Pascal ‘It/this is Pascal.’ (Diessel, 1999:5) Diessel uses the terms ‘demonstrative pronoun’, ‘demonstrative determiner’, ‘demonstrative adverb’ and ‘demonstrative identifier’ to indicate the categorical status of demonstratives in these four syntactic contexts, respectively. In his cross-linguistic study on demonstratives, Dixon (2003:62) identifies three main types of demonstrative: (a) nominal, (b) local adverbial; and (c) verbal. Nominal demonstratives are those that can occur in an NP with a noun or pronoun such as this in this stone is hot, or, in most languages, can make up a complete NP such as this in this is hot. In other words, demonstrative pronouns and demonstrative adjectives/determiners in previous studies such as Lyons (1977) and Diessel (1999) are grouped together and labeled ‘nominal demonstratives’. Type (b) corresponds to the demonstrative adverb in Lyons (1977) and Diessel (1999). A small number of languages have a subclass of verbs with demonstrative meaning, involving deictic reference to an action, such as the verb ‘ene(ii) in the Boumaa dialect of Fijian, which can be glossed ‘do like this’ (see Dixon, 2003:7274 for more details). Besides these three main types, Dixon (2003:62, 78, 88) also mentions manner adverbial demonstratives meaning ‘(do) like this, (do) in this way/manner’ and temporal adverbial demonstratives such as i-ppa ‘now’ and appa ‘then’ in Tamil. In the field of Chinese linguistics, the term dàicí 代詞 (lit. substitute word) is typically used to refer to the items that take on the function of substitution, which are usually further classified into three subtypes, that is, rénchēng dàicí 人稱代 詞 ‘personal pronoun’ such as wŏ 我 ‘I’ in Mandarin Chinese, zhĭshì dàicí 指示代 詞 ‘demonstrative pronoun’ such as Mandarin zhè 這 ‘this’, and yíwèn dàicí 疑問
Introduction | 59
代詞 ‘interrogative pronoun’ such as Mandarin shuí 誰 ‘who’ (cf. Ding et al., 1961:141; Zhu, 1982:80; Wang, 1984:260; Shi, 1999:85, among others). The term used for deictic demonstratives (zhĭshì dàicí 指示代詞) usually involves the following five subtypes: (a) the items that can either modify a noun or make up a complete NP by themselves, such as Mandarin zhè 這 ‘this’ and nà 那 ‘that’; (b) the items that indicate location, such as Mandarin zhèr 這兒 ‘here’ and nàr 那兒 ‘there’; (c) the items that indicate time, such as Mandarin zhèhuìr 這會兒 ‘now’ and nàhuìr 那會兒 ‘then’; (d) the items that indicate the manner of an action, such as Mandarin zhème 這麼 ‘(do) in this way’ and nàme 那麼 ‘(do) in that way’; and (e) the items that indicate degree, such as Mandarin zhème 這麼 in zhème lěng 這 麼冷 ‘this cold, cold like this, such a cold weather’ (cf. Ding et al., 1961:150; Zhu, 1982:85; Wang, 1984:299-303, among others). Most of the zhĭshì dàicí 指示代詞 in Chinese take on both the substitution function and the deictic function. So far, it is clear that the Chinese term zhĭshì dàicí 指示代詞 is used in the field of Chinese linguistics in a meaning which is quite close to the term ‘demonstrative’ in Dixon’s terms (Dixon, 2003). In this chapter, we will however focus on subtype (a) of zhĭshì dàicí 指示代詞, i.e. the type of demonstrative that Dixon (2003) calls ‘nominal demonstrative’. As mentioned above, the nominal demonstratives zhè ‘this’ and nà ‘that’ in Mandarin Chinese can either modify a noun such as chē 車 ‘car’ in (4) below, or make up a complete NP by itself, as in (5). (4) 這 車 zhè chē this car ‘this car’ (5) 那 是 我 媽 nà shì wŏ mā that be 1SG mother ‘That is my mother.’ Note, however, that zhè and nà also often co-occur with a classifier such as ge 個 in (6), or the complex [numeral + classifier] such as liăng běn 兩本 ‘two’ in (7) (6) 這 個 (人) zhè ge (rén) this CL (person) ‘this (person)’
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(7) 那 兩 本 (書) nà liăng běn (shū) that two CL (book) ‘those two (books)’ The demonstrative zhè in (6) is followed by the classifier ge, whereas nà in (7) precedes the complex liăng běn ‘two’ which consists of the numeral liăng ‘two’ and the classifier běn. As shown by these two examples, a noun such as rén ‘person’ and shū ‘book’ in (6) and (7) respectively can be further added after the classifier. In other Chinese varieties such as some varieties of Min, Yue and Wu, there exist some items which, unlike the Mandarin demonstratives zhè and nà, can neither directly modify a noun nor make up a complete NP by themselves, and must be followed by a classifier or the complex [numeral + classifier]. Examples include tsi53/hɯ53 ‘this/that’ in the Jieyang 揭 陽 variety of Southern Min (Xu, 2007:85), tsi33 只/xi33 許 ‘this/that’ in the Fuzhou 福州 variety of Eastern Min (Chen, 1999:254), ni55 呢/kɔ35 嗰 ‘this/that’ in Hong Kong Cantonese (Chang, 1999:353) and gǝʔ13 個/e53 哀 ‘this/that’ in Shanghai Wu (Pan & Tao, 1999:26-27). An example from Shanghai Wu is given in (8) below, where e53 哀 ‘that’ cannot directly modify the noun sʮ53 書 ‘book’. Strictly speaking, these items can neither be grouped among demonstrative pronouns nor determiners in Diessel’s sense of the term (1999), nor be grouped among nominal demonstratives in Dixon’s sense of the term (2003). Interestingly, Diessel (1999:33) points out that ‘[t]hough the stems of most demonstratives are monomorphemic, there are demonstratives whose stems are composed of multiple morphemes. The stems of demonstrative pronouns may consist of a deictic root and a nominalizer, a third person pronoun or a noun classifier’. If we follow this point of view, the Southern Min morphemes mentioned above may be termed ‘deictic roots’. For convenience, in this chapter, they will be examined together with the regular kind of nominal demonstratives. (8) a. 哀 本 書 53 55 e pǝŋ sʮ53 that CL book ‘that book’ *b.哀 書 53 e sʮ53 that book ‘that book’
Introduction | 61
As illustrated above, there is basically only one set of nominal demonstratives in Mandarin Chinese, i.e. zhè ‘this’ and nà ‘that’. The plural forms ‘these/those’ in Mandarin Chinese are formed by zhè/nà and the indefinite measure word xiē 些 ‘some’, i.e. zhèxiē 這些 ‘these’ and nàxiē 那些 ‘those’, as in zhèxiē shū 這些書 ‘these books’ and nàxiē huār 那些花兒 ‘those flowers’, respectively. Compared with Mandarin Chinese and some other Chinese dialects such as Yue, Wu and Hakka (cf. Chang, 1999; Lin, 1999, Pan & Tao, 1999), Min exhibits a relatively more complex nominal demonstrative system, partially due to a large inventory of nominal demonstrative forms that are differentiated according to a variety of semantic and syntactic parameters. In the Fuzhou variety of Eastern Min, for example, there are three separate sets of nominal demonstratives for ‘this/that’, i.e. tsui53/xui53, tsi33/xi33 and tsia33/xia33 (Chen, 1999:254-258). Similarly, there are four separate sets of nominal demonstratives in Shantou 汕頭 and Jieyang 揭陽, two varieties of Southern Min spoken in the Guangdong 廣東 province of China (Shi, 1999:304-309; Xu, 2007:84; see the following sections for more details). In Hui’an, we have identified five sets of nominal demonstratives with a two-way distinction (i.e. proximal and distal), presented in Table 5-1 together with their phonological forms and basic meanings. Tab. 5-1: Nominal demonstratives in the Hui’an dialect
Proximal
Distal
tsit7 即 (this)
hit7 迄 (that)
1
Basic adnominal demonstratives
2
Singular demonstrative pronouns tsat8 (this one) 2
hat8 (that one)
3
Plural demonstrative pronouns
tsuai 撮 (these) (this)
huai2 懷 (those) (that)
4
Generic demonstratives (i)
tse2 (this kind of) (generic)
hǝ2 (that kind of) (generic)
5
Generic demonstratives (ii)
tsiɔŋ3-2e2 種其 (this kind of) (generic)
hiɔŋ3-2e2 向其 (that kind of) (generic)
The nominal demonstrative system in Min raises a series of questions. For example, why is the inventory of nominal demonstrative forms larger in Min than in other Chinese varieties? Are the various sets of nominal demonstratives really separate sets, or are they related to each other in some way? How do they differ from each other? In the following sections, we explore the interesting issue of the relatively complex system of nominal demonstratives found in Min. We illustrate this discussion with examples from Hui’an, and use both the approach of linguistic typology and that of comparative dialectology. Nominal demonstratives in
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Hui’an will be examined in terms of their syntactic functions and semantic features (in §5.2), and of their pragmatic uses (in §5.3). Before doing this, we briefly clarify some terms related to semantic features of nominal demonstratives in Hui’an, as shown in Table 5-1 above and in §5.2.7 below. These include ‘category’, ‘generic’ and ‘specific’. In this chapter, the term ‘category’ is roughly equivalent to ‘(sub)type, (sub)class’, as opposed to ‘token, individual’. For example, ‘the apple’ in English can refer to a class of fruit, while ‘the apple I ate just now’ refers to an individual item. In the first case, it is used to refer to a whole class (or an entire category), and thus is generic, while, in the second case, it can be specific, that is, be used to refer to a particular apple. The fruit itself involves many different varieties (subtypes), such as Fuji and Gala with each regarded here as a member of the entire category ‘apple’.
5.2 Syntactic functions and semantic features In this section, we describe one by one the five sets of nominal demonstratives presented above in Table 5-1, in terms of their syntactic functions and semantic features.
5.2.1 Basic adnominal demonstratives: tsit7 即/hit7 迄 Unlike the demonstratives zhè and nà in Mandarin Chinese, the morphemes tsit7 ‘this’ and hit7 ‘that’ in Hui’an can neither be directly followed by a noun, as in (9), nor be used independently, as in (10). (9) *即 桌 tsit7-8 toʔ7 this table ‘this table’ (10) *即 是 我 其 tsit7 si4 gua3 e2 this be 1SG POSS ‘This is mine.’ In Hui’an, tsit7 ‘this’ and hit7 ‘that’ typically precede a classifier, as in (11) and (12). They may also precede the complex [numeral + classifier] with plural items, as in (13).
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(11) 即隻 無 甜 tsit7-8-tsiaʔ7 bo2-4 tin1 this-CL not.have sweet ‘This (chicken) is not sweet.’ (12) 即種 否看 tsit7-8-tsiɔŋ3 phai3-2-khuã5 this-kind bad-look ‘This kind (of clothes) looks terrible.’ (13) 買 迄兩套 3-2 bue hit7-8-lŋ4-tho5 buy that-two-set ‘buy those two (houses)’ In (11), tsit7 ‘this’ is followed by the classifier tsiaʔ7, a specific classifier typically for animals. In (12), tsit7 ‘this’ precedes the measure word tsiɔŋ3 ‘kind’. In (13), hit7 ‘that’ is followed by the numeral lŋ4 ‘two’ and then the measure word tho5 ‘set’. Semantically speaking, tsit7-8tsiaʔ7 in (11) refers to a specific and individualized entity, tsit7-8tsiɔŋ3 in (12) refers to a member of an entire category, while hit7-8lŋ4tho5 in (13) denotes a plural entity. As shown by examples (11) and (12), the numeral tsit8 蜀 ‘one’ is typically covert, unlike the plural numeral lŋ4 ‘two’ in example (13). In the following section, we discuss the hypothesis that demonstratives tsit7 and hit7 already contain numeral tsit8 ‘one’. If tsit8 ‘one’ is overtly expressed, as in tsit7-8tsit8-4tsiɔŋ3, an emphasis is put on ‘this kind of clothes’ that I am talking about, as opposed to another kind. A similar phenomenon has been reported for Jinjiang 晉江 (a county-level city in Quanzhou City, see Lin, 2012:33). The complex [tsit7/hit7 (+ numeral) + classifier] often functions as a subject/topic denoting inanimate objects or animals in daily conversation, such as tsit7-8tsiaʔ7 ‘this (chicken)’ and tsit7-8tsiɔŋ3 ‘this kind (of clothes)’ in examples (11) and (12). It is also well attested that the complex [tsit7/hit7 (+ numeral) + classifier] can function as the object of a verb such as bue3 ‘buy’ in example (13), or as the object of a preposition such as the dependent marker of comparison pi3 比 in (14) below. (14) 灰色 比 即領 恰 好看 hǝ1siak7 pi3-2 tsit7-8-liã3 khaʔ7-8 ho3-2-khuã5 gray DMC this-CL HMC good-look ‘The gray one looks better than this piece (of clothing).’
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Example (14) is a typical comparative construction of inequality in Hui’an. The standard of comparison tsit7-8liã3 ‘this piece (of clothing)’ serves as an object of the comparative marker pi3. The complex tsit7-8liã3 here denotes an inanimate object. The complex [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] can also refer to human being(s), as in (15) and (16), though this usage is relatively less frequent in daily conversation. (15) 叫 即兩個 來 kio5-3 tsit7-8-lŋ4-e2 lai2 call this-two-CL come ‘ask these two (persons) to come here’ (16) 迄孤 畢業 咯 hit7-8-kɔ1 pet7-8giǝp8 lɔ0 that-CL graduate SFP ‘That (person) has graduated.’ The complex tsit7-8lŋ4e2 ‘these two (persons)’ in (15) functions as the object of the verb kio5 ‘call’, whereas the complex hit7-8kɔ1 ‘that (person)’ in (16) serves as a subject of the sentence. A noun, or a pronoun such as i1 伊 ‘he’ in (17) below, may be added before the complex [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] to express possession. (17) 伊 即領 tsit7-8-liã3 i1 3SG this-CL ‘his piece (of clothing)’ In (17), the third person singular pronoun i1 serves as a possessor, whereas the complex tsit7-8liã3 ‘this piece (of clothing)’ functions as a possessee. As illustrated by examples (18a) and (19a) below, the complex [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] may serve as the head noun of a relative clause. (18) a. [㑑 買] 即套 lan3 bue3 tsit7-8-tho5 1PL buy this-set ‘this (house that) we bought’
Syntactic functions and semantic features | 65
b. 㑑 [買 即套] lan3 bue3-2 tsit7-8-tho5 1PL buy this-set ‘Let’s buy this (house).’ (19) a. [恁 爸 掠] 迄隻 len3-2 pa2 liaʔ8 hit7-8-tsiaʔ7 2PL father catch that-CL ‘that (duck) your father took (home)’ b. 恁 爸 [掠 迄隻] 3-2 2 8-4 len pa liaʔ hit7-8-tsiaʔ7 2PL father catch that-CL ‘your father took that (duck)’ Examples (18) and (19) both have two possible interpretations. In (18a), the complex tsit7-8tho5 ‘this (house)’ (lit. ‘this CL (house)’) serves as a head noun, following the relative clause lan3 bue3 ‘we buy’. Similarly, the complex hit7-8tsiaʔ7 ‘that (duck)’ in (19a) is preceded by the relative clause len3-2 pa2 liaʔ8 ‘your father took (home)’ and functions as the head noun of the relative clause. In terms of this usage, the distal demonstrative hit7 found in (19a) is much more common than the proximal demonstrative tsit7 found in (18a). In (18b) and (19b), however, tsit78 tho5 ‘this (house)’ and hit7-8tsiaʔ7 ‘that (duck)’ function as the object of the main verbs bue3 ‘buy’ and liaʔ8 ‘catch’, respectively. The difference between these two readings relies on the presence or absence of tone sandhi on the verbs bue3 ‘buy’ and liaʔ8 ‘catch’, realized in a citation tone in (18a) and (19a), vs. a sandhi tone in (18b) and (19b) (see §22.5.2 for details of light-headed relative clauses). The complex [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] can function as a modifier, in its turn, of a noun. More specifically, a noun can be further added at the end of the complex to produce [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier + noun] which shares the syntactic functions of [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] in examples (11) – (19). Here are three more examples, the first two of which involve the omitted numeral for ‘one’ (see below). (20) 即個 燈 共 伊 開 (起來) 7-8 2-4 1 5-4 1 1 tsit -e tiŋ ka i khui khai0 this-CL light OM 3SG open RVC ‘Switch on the light!’
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(21) 伊 呣 是 迄種 儂 i1 m5-4 si4 hit7-8-tsiɔŋ3-2 laŋ2 3SG not be that-kind person ‘He is not that kind of person.’ (22) 汝 迄兩隻 鴨 lɯ3 hit7-8-lŋ4-tsiaʔ7-8 aʔ7 2SG that-two-CL duck ‘your two ducks’ In (20), the demonstrative tsit7 with the classifier e2 modifies the noun tiŋ1 ‘light’, and tsit7-8e2-4 tiŋ1 ‘this light’ serves as a topic. In (21), hit7-8tsiɔŋ3 ‘that kind’ is further followed by the noun laŋ2 ‘person’, and hit7-8tsiɔŋ3-2 laŋ2 ‘that kind of person’ is linked to the subject i1 ‘he’ by the negative form of the copula verb si4 ‘be’ (i.e. m54 4 si ‘not be’). In (22), the complex hit7-8lŋ4tsiaʔ7 ‘those two’ modifies the noun aʔ7 ‘duck’, and the second person singular pronoun lɯ3 is further added before the demonstrative hit7 to denote possession. An adjective or adjective phrase may be further added before the noun, as in (23) and (24). (23) 迄兩雙 新 襪 hit7-8-lŋ4-saŋ1 sen1 bǝʔ8 that-two-pair new sock ‘those two new pairs of socks’ (24) 迄領 口 口 羊毛衫 hit7-8-liã3 huaʔ7 thiak7 iũ2-4bŋ2-4sã1 that-CL that beautiful sweater ‘that quite beautiful sweater’ In (23), the adjective sen1 ‘new’ is inserted between the complex hit7-8lŋ4saŋ1 ‘those two pairs’ and the noun bǝʔ8 ‘sock’. In (24), the adjective phrase huaʔ7 thiak7 ‘that beautiful’ consisting of the degree adverbial demonstrative huaʔ7 and the adjective thiak7 ‘beautiful’, is placed between the complex hit7-8liã3 ‘that piece of’ and the noun phrase iũ2-4bŋ2-4sã1 ‘sweater’. As illustrated by the examples given so far, in terms of their semantics, demonstrative phrases and noun phrases where the demonstratives tsit7 and hit7 occur usually represent a specific and individualized entity, as in examples (11) and (14) above, or they can refer to plural entities when a plural numeral is used,
Syntactic functions and semantic features | 67
as in (13) and (15), if not denote a member of an entire category when a measure word such as tsiɔŋ3 ‘kind’ is used, as in (12) and (21). The following examples, however, show that the complex [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] may involve non-specific reference. (25) 即個 也 卜挃, 迄個 也 卜挃 tsit7-8-e2-4 a4 boʔ7-8tiʔ8 hit7-8-e2-4 a4 boʔ7-8tiʔ8 this-CL also want that-CL also want ‘Everyone wants (it).’ (lit. ‘this (person) wants (it), that (person) also wants (it)’) (26) 買 即口 買 迄口 bue3-2 tsit7-8-khan1 bue3-2 hit7-8-khan1 buy this-item buy that-item ‘buy different items’ (lit. ‘buy this item, buy that item’) In (25), tsit7-8e2 ‘this (person)’ is followed by hit7-8e2 ‘that (person)’ to imply that different persons are interested in the same object, in this case demonstratives do not point out a specific person but rather serve a use similar to indefinite pronouns. In (26), tsit7-8khan1 co-occurs with hit7-8khan1 to express that different items are bought by somebody, without pointing out a specific item. The two examples also show that this usage is valid no matter whether the complex [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] functions in a sentence as a subject as in (25), or as an object as in (26). It should also be noted that the complex tsit7-8/hit7-8 khan1 is the most commonly heard in this use in daily conversation. According to Dixon (2003:65-66), in many languages where nominal demonstratives may be full NPs, this usage is relatively infrequent and is subject to restrictions, as illustrated by English this and that, which can only be used as a full NP in limited circumstances, for example, an NP this or that with an animate reference is restricted to being a copular subject in an identity clause (e.g. That’s my wife). If the complex [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] in Hui’an is as a whole regarded as a nominal demonstrative, its behaviour would be contrary to the typological tendency observed in Dixon (2003), since in daily conversation the use of Hui’an [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] as a full NP is relatively more frequent than its use as a noun modifier. In the following discussion, we attempt to provide some explanations for the current status of tsit7~hit7 in Hui’an. Huang & Lien (2007) note that in a play that reflects early stages of the Chaozhou and Quanzhou varieties of Southern Min, the 1581 Wan Li 萬曆 version
68 | Nominal demonstratives
of the Li Zhi Ji 荔枝記 (The Romance of the Lichi), only two nominal demonstratives can be attested, i.e. tsi53 只 and hɯ53 許.2 These demonstratives take on a range of syntactic functions similar to those of Mandarin zhè and nà, that is, they may (a) directly modify a noun; (b) function as a noun modifier with the complex [numeral + classifier], or with only a classifier or a numeral; (c) co-occur with the complex [numeral + classifier] or just a classifier, without a noun; (d) make up a complete NP by themselves; and (e) modify an adjective to mark degree (see Huang & Lien 2007 for details). In addition, function (a), that is, to directly modify a noun, is much more common than function (d) where demonstratives are used independently as a complete NP, as well as with respect to the other functions. All these clearly show that in early Southern Min (e.g. the 1581 Wan Li version of the Li Zhi Ji), nominal demonstratives used to function quite similarly to modern Mandarin demonstratives zhè and nà, which also accords better with the typological observation on nominal demonstratives made in Dixon (2003) that we mentioned above. Now, why and how did the syntactic functions of these nominal demonstratives become restricted in the modern Hui’an dialect? By comparing several varieties of Southern Min, we discovered that the counterparts of Hui’an tsit7 and hit7 are also pronounced as tsit7 and hit7 in Quanzhou, Jinjiang, Xiamen and Zhangzhou in Fujian (cf. Zhou & Ouyang 1998:358; Li 1999:270; Zhou 2006:583, 588; Lin 2012:32), as well as in Taiwan (cf. Yang 1991:198; Lien 1999; Liu X. 2005:133). However, in some other varieties spoken in Guangdong, such as Shantou, Jieyang and Chenghai 澄海, the counterparts of Hui’an tsit7 and hit7 are pronounced as tsi and hɯ/hǝ respectively, without the plosive ending t (cf. Shi 1995:201, 1999:304; Lin 1996:226; Xu 2007:84). More interestingly, both tsit~hit (with the stop ending t) and tsi~hi (without the stop ending t) are attested in the Qionglin 瓊林 variety of Southern Min, a conservative variety spoken on the island of Quemoy or Jinmen 金 門 (Liu X. 2005). Both pronunciations are also given in Douglas (1990[1873]:38, 127, 134), a Chinese-English dictionary that reflects the early Xiamen variety (also cited in Liu X. 2005:138), and in Putonghua Minnan Fangyan Cidian 普通話閩南方言詞典 (1982:553, 880, 994), a Mandarin-Southern Min dictionary. Note, however, that in Qionglin, the two sets tsit~hit and tsi~hi are in complementary distribution in terms of their syntactic functions, as shown in (i). (i) The complementary distribution of tsit~hit and tsi~hi in Qionglin a. tsi/hi + plural numeral + classifier + noun || 2 This observation is made about a version of the Wan Li period of Ming dynasty, i.e. late 16th or early 17th century. The pronunciations tsi53 and hɯ53 given here are based on the modern Shantou variety of Southern Min, as described by Zeng (1991).
Syntactic functions and semantic features | 69
b. tsit/hit + classifier + noun (cf. Liu X., 2005:142) On the contrary, these two sets seem to share similar syntactic functions in the early Xiamen variety noted in Douglas (1990[1873]). In Putonghua Minnan Fangyan Cidian (1982), the set tsi~hi (without the stop ending) seems to be only attested in the idiom khua tsi khua hi 看呰看許 ‘look around’ (lit. ‘look at this look at that’), in which the demonstratives tsi and hi seem to involve non-specific reference. This idiom probably preserves and reflects an earlier usage of Southern Min nominal demonstratives. In addition, the set tsi~hi can be found in some minor varieties of modern Southern Min spoken in Fujian, such as the Datian 大田 and Youxi 尤溪 varieties spoken in Sanming 三明, and in varieties spoken in several counties of Zhangzhou and in a few townships of the Nan’an 南安 County in Quanzhou (Huang 1961:23; Chen & Li 1991:94). Based on some of the facts mentioned above, previous studies such as Mei & Yang (1995), Li (1999), Lien (1999), Mei (1999), and Liu X. (2005) have argued that demonstratives tsit~hit are in fact fused forms of the demonstratives tsi 只~hi 許 and the numeral ‘one’, i.e. it7 一 ‘one’ (e.g. Mei & Yang 1995; Mei 1999), or tsit8 蜀 ‘one’ (e.g. Lien 1999). Liu X. (2005) further argued that the two sets of demonstratives tsit~hit and tsi~hi co-existed in earlier Southern Min, and that modern varieties preserve either tsit~hit or tsi~hi, as a result of the competition between them. The fusion hypothesis would convincingly explain why demonstratives tsit and hit typically require a classifier. This syntactic constraint can be accounted for by the fact that numeral ‘one’ is still retained in the demonstratives tsit and hit, even though these forms seem to have undergone a certain amount of grammaticalization in that they can be followed by a plural numeral in modern Southern Min. It is also possible that other nominal demonstratives have taken over partial functions of these earlier demonstratives, tsi~hi. We examine these other demonstratives in the following sections. From the point of view of the interface between phonology and grammar, the analysis proposed so far also shows how a phonological process (i.e. syllable fusion) has affected the nominal demonstrative system and has impacted on the syntactic functions of Southern Min nominal demonstratives. It should be noted that syllabic coalescence is also attested in Mandarin Chinese: the nominal demonstratives 這 and 那 both have two forms, zhè~nà and zhèi~nèi. The latter forms result from the fusion of zhè and nà with numeral yī 一 ‘one’ (cf. Zhu 1982:85). However, the fused forms zhèi~nèi in Mandarin Chinese are more grammaticalized than the fused forms tsit~hit in modern Southern Min, since zhèi~nèi can directly modify a noun, and be used independently as the sub-
70 | Nominal demonstratives
ject of a sentence to denote a human being or an object, even though their syntactic functions are more restricted than zhè~nà (Zhu 1982:86; Zhang & Fang 1996:159-160). Another interesting phenomenon associated with Hui’an complex [tsit7/hit7 + numeral + classifier] can be observed in a context where three, or more than three entities, are involved. Suppose that there are in total four entities present in the context (e.g. A, B, C, D), of which A and B are relatively close to the speaker, while C and D are relatively far from the speaker. A and B will be conceived of as one group, and each will be randomly represented by the complexes tsit7-8 e2 (with tone sandhi) and tsit7 e2 (without tone sandhi) without the two, A and B, being distinguished by any particular semantic parameters (that is, depending on the subjective viewpoint of the speaker, rather than the relative distance between A/B and the speaker). Similarly, C and D will be conceived of as another group, and be referred to by the complexes hit7-8 e2 (with tone sandhi) and hit7 e2 (without tone sandhi) in a random choice (also depending on the speaker’s viewpoint). For example, tsit7-8 e2 (with tone sandhi) and tsit7 e2 (without tone sandhi) may be used to distinguish two entities which are both close to the speaker. Among these two forms, tsit7-8 e2 follows the general tone sandhi rule in Hui’an, whereas tsit7 e2 does not. The first syllable tsit7 in tsit7 e2 is stressed, whereas the second syllable e2 is relatively unstressed, even though its tone contour is retained. The classifier (for instance, e2 in tsit7-8 e2) depends on the items referred to, and the relative order of A and B (also, C and D) depends on the order in which the speaker wishes to introduce the two entities, e.g. their relative importance. The relative distance between the two entities and the speaker may also play a role in some cases. A similar phenomenon is also attested in other Southern Min varieties such as the Jinjiang and Xiamen varieties spoken in Fujian (Zhou & Ouyang 1998:359; Li 1999:277; Lin 2012:36-37), and in the Shantou variety spoken in Guangdong (Li 1999:277). However, in these varieties, the second syllable in the form without tone sandhi (e.g. the classifier e2) is reported to have lost its tone contour and undergone tonal neutralization, as in (27), an example from Xiamen, where the general classifier e2 個 is in a neutral tone (i.e. e0) in the second occurrence of tsit78 2 e 即個 ‘this one’.
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(27) 即個 較 否, (the Xiamen variety) tsit7-8-e2 khaʔ7-3 phai3 this-CL comparatively bad 即個 較 好 tsit7-e0 khaʔ7-3 ho3 this-CL comparatively good ‘This one is comparatively bad, this one is comparatively good.’ It should be noted, however, that the case of four entities mentioned here is an idealized one. The use of forms without tone sandhi such as tsit7 e2 is not obligatory. In some situations, for example, the speaker may point out different entities and use only a form with tone sandhi such as tsit7-8 e2. For instance, the speaker walks over to entity A and uses the form tsit7-8 e2 to refer to A, then walks across to B and uses the same form (tsit7-8 e2) to refer to B.
5.2.2 Singular demonstratives: tsat8/hat8 Hui’an demonstratives tsat8 ‘this’ and hat8 ‘that’ differ from the demonstratives tsit7~hit7 examined in the preceding section in that they may be used independently, as in (28), but may also directly modify a noun, as in (29). (28) 口/口 今年 幾 歲 啊 8 8 1 2 3-2 5 tsat /hat ken -lin kui hǝ a0 this/that this-year how.many year SFP ‘How old is this/that one (child) this year?’ (29) 口/口 老師 野 好 tsat8-4/hat8-4 lau4sɯ1 ia3-2 ho3 this/that teacher quite good ‘This/that teacher is quite good.’ Demonstratives tsat8 and hat8 make up a complete NP by themselves in (28), and directly modify the following noun lau4sɯ1 ‘teacher’ in (29). Unlike demonstratives tsit7 and hit7, they cannot be followed by a classifier or by the complex [numeral + classifier]. These two examples also show that both the demonstratives tsat8~hat8 and the complex [tsat8/hat8+ noun] can refer to a specific person and
72 | Nominal demonstratives
function as the subject/topic of the sentence. All this suggests that Hui’an demonstratives tsat8 and hat8 may have incorporated both numeral tsit8 ‘one’ and general classifier e2 個. The following two examples illustrate the use of tsat8~hat8 as the subject of the sentence to denote a specific and individualized inanimate object. Demonstratives tsat8 and hat8 are used independently in (30), and modify the following noun thua1len5 拖鏈 ‘towline’ in (31). (30) 口/口 啥 啊 a0 tsat8/hat8 siã2 this/that what SFP ‘What is this/that?’ (31) 口/口 拖鏈 否 去 tsat8-4/hat8-4 thua1len5 phai3 khɯ0 this/that towline bad PVC ‘This/that towline has gone bad.’ The demonstratives tsat8~hat8 and the noun phrases in which they occur can also be used as the object of a preposition, such as the benefactive marker ka5 共 in (32), or of a verb, such as kia2 攑 ‘take’ in (33). (32) 共 口 買 衫 5-4 8 3-2 tsat bue sã1 ka BEN this buy clothes ‘buy clothes for this one (child)’ (33) 我 攑 口 gua3 kia2-4 hat8 1SG take that ‘I take that (one).’ Proximal demonstrative tsat8 is in (32) preceded by benefactive marker ka5, and functions as the beneficiary of the action ‘buy’, while distal demonstrative hat8 in (33) serves as the object of kia2 ‘take’. These two examples also illustrate that demonstratives tsat8~hat8, when they syntactically function as an object, can denote a specific human being as in (32), or a specific and individualized object as in (33). Nouns such as ken3-2a3 囝仔 ‘child’ and toʔ7 桌 ‘table’ can be further added after demonstratives tsat8 and hat8 in (32) and (33), respectively. It should be
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noted, however, that even if the proximal demonstrative tsat8 and the noun phrases in which it occurs may be used as objects, they are more typically used as the subject of the sentence in daily conversation, as shown in examples (28) – (31). By way of contrast, both uses as subject and object turn out to be frequent in the case of the distal demonstrative hat8 and the noun phrases in which it occurs. Demonstratives tsat8 and hat8, especially hat8, may be modified by a personal pronoun such as gua3 我 ‘I’ as in (34), a noun such as a1i2 阿姨 ‘aunt’ as in (35), or a relative clause such as i1 leʔ7-8 iŋ5 伊咧用 ‘he is using’ as in (36). (34) 我 口 三 萬 gua3 tsat8 sã1 ban5 1SG this three ten.thousand ‘(The renovation) of my (house) cost thirty thousand CNY.’ (35) 㑑 口 沙發 比 阿姨 口 恰 好料 3 8-4 1 7 3-2 1 2 8 7-8 lan tsat sa huat pi a -i hat khaʔ ho3-2liau5 1PL this sofa DMC PREF-aunt that HMC good ‘Our sofa is better than that at auntie’s place.’ (36) [[伊 咧 用] 口] 是 我 其 其 i1 leʔ7-8 iŋ5 hat8 si4 gua3 e2 e0 3SG PROG use that be 1SG POSS SFP ‘The (knife) that he is using is mine.’ (34) is used in a context where people are talking about the renovation of their houses. Proximal demonstrative tsat8 is preceded by the first person singular pronoun gua3 to refer to ‘mine’ (‘my house’). In (35), distal demonstrative hat8, coreferential with the noun sa1huat7 ‘sofa’, is modified by the noun a1i2 ‘aunt’. In (36), the subject is encoded by the distal demonstrative hat8 which serves as a head noun and is modified by the relative clause i1 leʔ7-8 iŋ5 ‘he is using’ (cf. chapter 22). Distal demonstrative hat8 tends to be modified, maybe because proximal tsat8 is typically used to refer to a person or an object that is present, whereas hat8 also often refers to something or someone not visible in the context of speech, so the modifier helps the hearer to identify the referent. Nouns such as tshu5 厝 ‘house’, sa1huat7 ‘sofa’ and to1 刀 ‘knife’ can be added directly after the demonstratives tsat8~hat8 in examples (34) – (36), respectively. In some cases, demonstratives tsat8 and hat8 are co-referential with the preceding personal pronoun, e.g. with personal pronoun i1 伊 ‘he’ in (37), or with the following noun, e.g. with a1sã1 阿三 ‘Ah-San’ in (38).
74 | Nominal demonstratives
(37) 伊 口 四 個 i1 tsat8 si5-3 e2-4 3SG this four CL ‘He has four aunts.’
姑姑 kɔ1kɔ1 aunt
(38) 口 阿三 考 博士 hat8 a1sã1 khɔ͂ 3-2 phɔk7-8sɯ4 that PN take.exam doctor ‘Ah-San took an entrance examination for PhD course.’ Both the examples above are found in our spoken data. Example (37) was used in a context where the referent of the pronoun i1 ‘he’ had been mentioned in the preceding discourse. The pronoun i1 ‘he’ and its following demonstrative tsat8 ‘this’ form an appositive construction, which helps the hearer to identify its referent. In (38), the person coded by demonstrative hat8 is mentioned for the first time, and the noun a1sã1 is used to make it clear to the hearer who the speaker is talking about. As shown by the examples above, Hui’an demonstratives tsat8~hat8 and the noun phrases in which they occur typically denote a specific person or object, showing a semantic correspondance with Mandarin zhè/zhèi ge 這個 ‘this (one)’ and nà/nèi ge 那個 ‘that (one)’ respectively, which are composed of demonstratives zhè~nà (or zhèi~nèi) ‘this/that’ and the general classifier ge. Thus, although Hui’an demonstratives tsat8 and hat8 are monosyllabic words, they share many characteristics with Mandarin zhè/zhèi ge and nà/nèi ge.3
|| 3 We have contemplated the possibility that Hui’an demonstratives tsat8 and hat8 might result from the fusion of demonstratives tsit7/hit7 ‘this/that’ and the general classifier e2. However, we lack internal phonological evidence to support this hypothesis. In §5.2.4 below, we discuss another set of demonstratives used in Hui’an, tse2~hǝ2, which makes the issue even more complicated. Thus, the source of Hui’an demonstratives tsat8~hat8 requires further investigation. Comparatively speaking, their semantic counterparts in other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen, Qionglin and Taiwan might seem to be more clearly related to a fused form [tsit/hit + e] or [tsi/hi + e], since they are typically pronounced as tse~he (cf. Putonghua Minnanhua Fangyan Cidian 1982:553, 994; Yang 1991:218; Zhou & Ouyang 1998:358-359; Lien 1999:76; Liu X. 2005:134, 137). However, these forms also require futher investigation.
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5.2.3 Plural demonstratives: tsuai2 撮/huai2 懷 Demonstratives tsuai2 ‘these’ and huai2 ‘those’ differ from tsat8 and hat8 only in that tsuai2 and huai2 denote either plural entities, as in (39), or a mass entity such as kun3-2tsui3 滾水 ‘boiled water’ in (40) which is treated like a plural, while they may not refer to a specific, individualized person or object. In (39) and (40) they are both used independently as the subject of a copular sentence to denote an inanimate object. (39) 撮 是 阮 學堂 其 樓 tsuai2 si4 gun3 oʔ8-4tŋ2 e2-4 lau2 these be 1PL school GEN building ‘These are the buildings of our school.’ (40) 懷 是 滾水 2 huai si4 kun3-2-tsui3 those be boil-water ‘That is boiled water.’ Like tsat8 and hat8, tsuai2 and huai2 may be the subject/topic of a sentence where the copula is covert, as shown in (41). At the same time, tsuai2 and huai2 are often used alone as the object of a verb such as kuã4 捾 ‘carry’ in (42), or of a preposition such as the comitative marker kaʔ7 合 ‘with’ in (43). (41) 撮 阮 老師 tsuai2 gun3-2 lau4sɯ1 these 1PL teacher ‘These are my teachers.’ (42) 我 捾 撮 gua3 kuã4 tsuai2 1SG carry these ‘Let me take these.’ (43) 合 懷 創 做蜀下 7-8 2 5 kaʔ huai tshɔŋ tsue5-3tsit8-4e4 COMT those do together ‘Put (these) together with those.’
76 | Nominal demonstratives
The use of demonstratives tsuai2~huai2 to denote human beings, illustrated in example (41), is however relatively less frequent than their use to denote inanimate objects. Demonstratives tsuai2 and huai2, like tsat8 and hat8, can also modify nouns, or be modified themselves, as in the examples below. (44) 伫 厝裡 合 懷 孫 4 5-3 4 7-8 2 ti tshu -lai kap huai sun1 at house-inside look.after those grandchild ‘(She is) at home looking after those grandchildren.’ (45) 汝 撮 恰 好 lɯ3 tsuai2 khaʔ7-8 ho3 2SG these comparatively good ‘These ones of yours are better (than mine).’ (46) [[恁 買] 懷] 無 貴 len3 bue3 huai2 bo2-4 kui5 2PL buy those not.have expensive ‘Those you bought are not expensive.’ In (44), distal demonstrative huai2 modifies the following noun sun1 ‘grandchild’ denoting a human being, and the noun phrase huai2 sun1 ‘those grandchildren’ serves as the object of the verb kap7 ‘take care’. In (45), the proximal demonstrative tsuai2 is modified by the second person singular pronoun lɯ3 to denote possession. In (46), the distal demonstrative huai2 functions as a head noun modified by the relative clause len3 bue3 ‘you buy’, and len3 bue3 huai2 ‘those you bought’ as a whole functions as the subject of the sentence, followed by the predicate bo2-4 kui5 ‘not expensive’. The examples above show that demonstratives tsuai2 and huai2 basically correspond to demonstratives zhèxiē 這 些 ‘these’ and nàxiē 那 些 ‘those’ in Mandarin Chinese. However, according to Lü (1980:360, 593), in Mandarin zhèxiē ‘these’ and nàxiē ‘those’, when they function as the subject of an interrogative sentence, usually denote inanimate objects rather than human beings, as shown in the following two examples. Demonstrative zhèxiē 這些 ‘these’ is infelicitous in (47a), and must be followed by a noun, to become zhèxiē rén 這些人 ‘these people’ as in (47b).
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(47) a. *這些 是 誰 (Mandarin Chinese) zhèxiē shì shuí these be who ‘Who are these?’ b. 這些 人 是 誰/什麼人 (Mandarin Chinese) zhèxiē rén shì shuí/shénme-rén these person be who/what-person ‘Who are these people?’ (48) a. 撮 啥儂 啊 (Hui’an) 2 2 2 tsuai siã -laŋ a0 these what-person SFP ‘Who are these?’ b. 撮 儂 啥儂 啊 (Hui’an) tsuai2 laŋ2 siã2-laŋ2 a0 these person what-person SFP ‘Who are these people?’ In Hui’an, however, both tsuai2 laŋ2 ‘these people’ and tsuai2 ‘these’, the counterparts of Mandarin zhèxiē rén ‘these people’ and zhèxiē ‘these’, can be used in this context, as shown in (48). It should also be mentioned that in this context the copula is usually covert in Hui’an, as opposed to Mandarin shì ‘be’ in (47). Besides the use of tsuai2 and huai2 alone, a few examples of these plural demonstratives accompanied by a classifier, tsuai2e2 ‘these-CL’ and huai2e2 ‘thoseCL’, are also attested in daily conversation in Hui’an, as in (49) and (50). (49) 撮其 菜 著 五 口 tsuai2e2-4 tshai5 tioʔ8-4 gɔ4 khɔ1 these dish need five YUAN ‘These dishes cost five yuan.’ (50) 懷其 儂 一直 卜 差 伊 huai2e2-4 laŋ2 et7-8tet8-4 boʔ7-8 tshe1 i0 those person always want order.about 3SG ‘Those people always like to order him about.’
78 | Nominal demonstratives
Demonstratives tsuai2e2 ‘these’ and huai2e2 ‘those’ are followed by the noun tshai5 ‘dish’ and laŋ2 ‘person’ in (49) and (50), respectively. The e2 found in Hui’an tsuai2e2 and huai2e2 is most likely a case of the general classifier e2, as our glossing shows. It should also be mentioned that tsuai2e2 and huai2e2 are attested in the speech of the elder generation, rather than that of the younger generation. Tab. 5-2: The demonstratives for ‘these’ and ‘those’ in different Southern Min varieties
Series A
Series B
Proximal ‘these’
Distal ‘those’
Proximal ‘these’ + CL
Distal ‘those’ + CL
Hui’an 惠安
tsuai2
huai2
tsuai2e2
huai2e2
Jinjiang 晉江
tsuai24
huai24
tsuai55-24e24
huai55-24e24
Quanzhou 泉州
tsia2
huai2
tsuai2e2
huai2e2
Xiamen 廈門
tsia2/ tsiaʔ7
hia2/ hiaʔ7
tsia(ʔ7-)3e2
hia(ʔ7-)3e2
Zhangzhou 漳州
tsiaʔ7
hiaʔ7
tsia(ʔ7-)3e2
hia(ʔ7-)3e2
Taiwan 臺灣
tsia/tsiai
hia/hiai
tse
he
Qionglin 瓊林
tsiai35
hiai35
tsi35tsiai35
hi35hiai35
tsi3tshoʔ7
hɯ3tshoʔ7
tsi53-35ko213
hɯ53-35ko213
Shantou 汕頭 Jieyang 揭陽
tsio53
hio53
Series C Proximal ‘these’ + CL
Distal ‘those’ +CL
hit kuã
tse5tsiai35
he5hiai35
tsio53-35 ko213/tshoʔ2
hio53-35 ko213/tshoʔ2
Table 5-2 shows the various counterparts of the Hui’an demonstratives tsuai2 ‘these’ and huai2 ‘those’ in eight other Southern Min varieties.4 Table 5-2 clearly shows that Hui’an demonstratives for ‘these/those’ are basically parallel to those used in Jinjiang and Quanzhou. Lin (2012:33) considers that Jinjiang tsuai24 and || 4 The demonstratives in other Southern Min varieties listed in Table 5-2 are based on previous studies such as Putonghua Minnanhua Fangyan Cidian (1982), Yang (1991), Zhou & Ouyang (1998), Lien (1999), Liu X. (2005), Zhou (2006) and Xu (2007).
Syntactic functions and semantic features | 79
huai24 are contracted forms of tsuai55-24e24 and huai55-24e24, respectively. If we follow this analysis, Hui’an demonstratives tsuai2 and huai2 as shown in examples (39) – (46) should also be considered as contracted variants of the dissyllabic demonstratives tsuai2e2 and huai2e2 illustrated in (49) and (50), respectively. Plural demonstratives in Taiwan Southern Min are basically in line with those used in the Xiamen and Zhangzhou varieties spoken in Fujian. Lien (1999:76) observes that plural demonstratives tsia/hia ‘these/those’ in Taiwan Southern Min are actually fused forms originating in demonstratives tsit/hit and the plural classifier koa, while plural demonstratives tse/he ‘these/those’ are fused forms which result from the contraction of plural demonstratives tsia/hia and the classifier e, as shown in (ii). (ii) Fusion processes accounting for Taiwan Southern Min plural demonstratives a. tsia 這括 ‘these’ < *tsit + *koa; hia 許括 ‘those’ < *hit + *koa b. tse 這個 ‘these’ < *tsia + *e; he 許個 ‘those’ < *hia + *e The disyllabic form *hit + *koa proposed in (ii) is still attested in the modern Xiamen variety (cf. Putonghua Minnanhua Fangyan Cidian, 1982:553). Similarly, Huang (1961:24-25) has also suggested that plural demonstratives in Southern Min are fused forms of demonstratives tsit~hit and the plural classifier kua 介/kuã 幹 or kuaʔ葛, as shown in (iii). This results in two plural series as each demonstrative has a pronunciation with and without the glottal stop ending. (iii) Fusion processes accounting for Southern Min plural demonstratives in Huang (1961) a. tsia ‘these’ < tsit + kua/kuã; hia ‘those’ < hit + kua/kuã (Xiamen and Zhangzhou) b. tshiaʔ ‘these’ < tsit + kuaʔ; hiaʔ ‘those’ < hit + kuaʔ (Xiamen and Zhangzhou) c. tsua ‘these’ < tsit + kua/kuã; hua ‘those’ < hit + kua/kuã (Quanzhou) d. tsuaʔ ‘these’ < tsit + kuaʔ; huaʔ ‘those’ < hit + kuaʔ (Quanzhou) A similar fusion is also attested in Jieyang. According to Xu (2007:88), plural demonstratives tsio53 and hio53 are the fused forms of demonstatives tsi53~hɯ5 and the collective classifier ko213, i.e. tsio53/hio53 < tsi53/hɯ53 + ko213. In addition, the disyllabic forms tsi53-35/hɯ53-35 ko213 are still used in the modern Jieyang variety. Plural demonstratives followed by a classifier are also found in Mandarin Chinese. According to Lü (1980:360, 593), zhè/zhèi xiē ge 這些個 and nà/nèi xiē ge 那些個, consisting of the demonstratives zhè/zhèi xiē 這些~nà/nèi xiē 那些 and the general classifier ge 個, are used in the spoken language and share the functions of zhè/zhèi xiē 這些 and nà/nèi xiē 那些.
80 | Nominal demonstratives
So far, we consider that it is safe to say that Hui’an tsuai2 and huai2 may be accounted for by the fusion of demonstratives tsit7 and hit7 with a plural or collective classifier, and that the following morpheme e2 is the general classifier, though the detailed process of this fusion needs to be further explored.
5.2.4 Generic demonstratives: tse2/hǝ2 Demonstratives tse2 ‘this kind of’ and hǝ2 ‘that kind of’ show the same syntactic distribution that was described in §5.2.2 and §5.2.3 above for demonstratives tsat8~hat8 and tsuai2~huai2. For example, tse2~hǝ2 can either be used independently, as in (51), or be immediately followed by a noun and serve as a modifier, as in (52). (51) 伊 驚 寒, 伊 愛 穿 口 1 1 2 1 5-3 5-4 i kiã kuã i ai tshiŋ hǝ2 3SG fear cold 3SG like wear that ‘She likes wearing that kind (of clothes since) she is sensitive to cold.’ (52) 口 桌 食 恰 好 食 tse2 toʔ7 tsiaʔ8 khaʔ7-8 ho3-2 tsiaʔ8 this table eat comparatively good eat ‘This kind of table is better for meals (than other kinds of tables).’ Distal demonstrative hǝ2 in (51) is used independently as the object of the verb phrase ai5-3 tshiŋ5 ‘like wearing’, whereas the proximal demonstrative tse2 in (52) modifies the following noun toʔ7 ‘table’, the resulting noun phrase tse2 toʔ7 functions as the subject of the sentence. Unlike demonstratives tsat8~hat8 denoting a specific and individualized entity, demonstratives tse2~hǝ2 in (51) and (52) represent a member of an entire category. Specifically, hǝ2 in (51) is not used to refer to the specific piece of clothing she is wearing, but refers to a type of clothes, i.e. warm clothes, like the one that she is wearing. Similarly, tse2 toʔ7 in (52) is not used to refer to the specific and individuated table around which people are sitting, but refers to a type of table which shares some characteristic features with the one in question. In other words, demonstratives tse2~hǝ2 in (51) and (52) are semantically similar to English this kind of or that kind of. The following two examples show that tse2~hǝ2 may also represent an entire category.
Syntactic functions and semantic features | 81
(53) 口 橙 無 敗害 tse2 tshiaŋ2 bo2-4 pai5-4hai5 this orange not.have harm ‘It is not bad (for you to eat) oranges.’ (54) 口 𣍐做 搭 hǝ2 bue4tsue5-3 taʔ7 that cannot stick ‘That (i.e. the scotch tape) cannot be stuck (to clothes).’ Example (53) is used in a context where the host is suggesting to the guest to eat some oranges, and tse2 tshiaŋ2 ‘orange’ is used to refer to the category ‘orange’ as a whole, rather than a specific set of oranges. This is because the host is making a generic statement about oranges. Example (54) was used in a situation where two people were getting rid of some cotton fibres stuck on their clothes by using scotch tape. The speaker wanted to stop them from doing so, as he mistakenly thought they were trying to stick scotch tape to the clothes. Thus, the distal demonstrative hǝ2 in (54) is used to refer to the entire category ‘scotch tape’, rather than a specific token of scotch tape. Sometimes, the use of tse2 seems similar to that of tsat8, as in (55), emitted in a context where the speaker is showing her parents one of her photos taken during a trip, in which someone is singing for her and her friends. (55) 口 是 儂 咧 共 阮 唱 歌 tse2 si4 laŋ4 leʔ7-8 ka5-4 gun3-2 tshiũ5-3 kua1 this be other PROG BEN 1PL sing song ‘This is (when) the person was singing for us.’ In (55), the proximal demonstrative tse2 refers to the photo which the speaker is talking about. In this case, tse2 seems to refer to a specific and individualized entity, just like demonstrative tsat8. Demonstratives tse2~hǝ2 differ from tsat8~hat8 and tsuai2~huai2 in that, acting as the head noun, they can be modified by the complex [numeral + classifier], as in (56) and (57). (56) 伊 也 蜀 條 口 (鏈仔) i1 a4 tsit8-4 tiau2-4 tse2 (len5-4-a3) 3SG also one CL this (chain-NM) ‘She has a (necklace) like this too.’
82 | Nominal demonstratives
(57) 阮 買 兩 垛 口 長 其 gun3 bue3-2 lŋ4 tǝ5-3 hǝ2 tŋ2 e0 1PL buy two CL that long NMLZ ‘We bought two of the kind (of table) that is long.’ In (56), tse2 (len5-4a3) refers to a kind of necklace, and is modified by tsit8-4 tiau2, which consists of numeral tsit8 ‘one’ and classifier tiau2. In (57), tŋ2 e0 serves as a relative clause, while the head noun is encoded by the distal demonstrative hǝ2 ‘that’ referring to the category of table. The noun phrase hǝ2 tŋ2 e0 is further modified by the complex lŋ4 tǝ5, consisting of numeral lŋ4 ‘two’ and classifier tǝ5. In terms of their forms, all of the proximal demonstratives mentioned in §5.2.1-5.2.3 above differ from the distal ones only by their initials (i.e. ts for the proximal one, vs. h for the distal one). Proximal demonstrative tse2, however, differs from distal hǝ2 both by the initial (i.e. ts vs. h) and the final (i.e. e vs. ǝ). Final ǝ regularly corresponds to final e in some other Southern Min varieties. For example, Hui’an hǝ2 回 ‘decline’ and hǝ3 火 ‘fire’ are pronounced as he2 and he3 respectively in Xiamen (Zhou 2006: 177-178). Thus, Hui’an hǝ2 might be a late development from an earlier form he2. That is, it is possible that the proximal and distal forms may have shared the same final in an earlier stage of the Hui’an dialect. Demonstratives with the phonetic shape of tse~he have been reported in other Southern Min varieties such as the Xiamen and Qionglin varieties and in Taiwan Southern Min (cf. Zhou & Ouyang 1998; Mei 1999; Lien 1999; Liu X. 2005). However, in these varieties tse and he typically express ‘this/that one’ and thus usually denote a specific and individualized entity, rather than a category. In other words, in these varieties tse and he are semantic counterparts of Hui’an tsat8 and hat8 (described in §5.2.2 above). In addition, in these varieties tse and he have been regarded by previous studies as fused form of demonstratives tsit and hit combined with the general classifier e. Thus, there may be a possibility that Hui’an demonstratives tse2 and hǝ2 originally expressed ‘this/that one’, that is, were used to denote a specific and individualized entity, and that later their use was extended to denote an entire category or a member of a category. In the meantime, the (new) forms tsat8 and hat8 developed as demonstratives for specific and individualized entities, thus accelerating the decline of demonstratives tse2 and hǝ2 in their original usage. Another possibility is that tse2 and hǝ2 are contracted variants of demonstratives tsiɔŋ3-2e2 ‘this kind of’ and hiɔŋ3-2e2 ‘that kind of’ respectively, to be discussed in the following section. In some other Southern Min varieties, to denote a member of a category as in Huai’an examples (51) and (52), one typically
Syntactic functions and semantic features | 83
uses the complex consisting of the demonstrative and the classifier for ‘kind’, for instance, tsit7-8khuan3 即款 ‘this kind of’ and hit7-8khuan3 迄款 ‘that kind of’ in Xiamen. This corresponds to Mandarin zhèzhŏng 這種 ‘this kind of’ and nàzhŏng 那種 ‘that kind of’, and to this kind of and that kind of in English. However, in the Qionglin variety of Southern Min spoken in Jinmen, and the Shantou and Jieyang varieties of Southern Min spoken in Guangdong, a special form is also attested to denote a representative of a category or an entire category, just like Hui’an tse2~hǝ2. Table 5-3-Table 5-5 shows this correspondence (data are taken from Shi 1999:289-324; Liu X. 2005:138, 143; and Xu 2007:84). Tab. 5-3: Demonstratives denoting ‘category’ in Hui’an and Qionglin5
Hui’an
Proximal
Distal
tse2 ‘this kind of’ (generic)
hǝ2 ‘that kind of’ (generic)
35
tsɤ ‘this kind of’ (generic)
Qionglin
hɤ35 ‘that kind of’ (generic)
Tab. 5-4: Demonstratives denoting ‘category’ in Shantou
Proximal
Distal
tsia53-24khi53 ‘this kind of’ (generic)
hia53-24khi53 ‘that kind of’ (generic)
tsia53(-24khi53)kai55 ‘this kind of’ (generic)
hia53(-24khi53)kai55 ‘that kind of’ (generic)
53
tsia ‘this kind of’ (generic)
hia53 ‘that kind of’ (generic)
Tab. 5-5: Demonstratives denoting ‘category’ in Jieyang
Proximal
Distal
tsia53 ‘this kind of’ (generic) 53-35
tsia
55
kai ‘this kind of NP’
hia53 ‘that kind of’ (generic) hia53-35kai55 ‘that kind of NP’
Demonstratives tsɤ35~hɤ35 in Qionglin can denote a specific member of a category or just to the category itself, as shown in Table 5-3. Like Hui’an tse2~hǝ2, Qionglin
|| 5 We exclude here those forms consisting of a demonstrative meaning ‘this/that’ and a measure word meaning ‘kind, category’.
84 | Nominal demonstratives
tsɤ35~hɤ35 can be used independently or as a noun modifier (Liu X. 2005: 143). Table 5-4 shows that in Shantou there are three sets of demonstratives denoting a representative of a category or an entire category, of which tsia53-24khi53 and hia5324 khi53 can only be used as a noun modifier, tsia53(-24khi53)kai55 and hia53(-24khi53)kai55 can only be used as an independent pronoun, while tsia53 and hia53 can be either a noun modifier or an independent pronoun (Shi 1999). In Jieyang, as stated in Table 5-5, tsia53/hia53 denote either a member of a category or an entire category, whereas tsia53-35kai55/hia53-35kai55 only denote a member of a category. In addition, tsia53/hia53 can be used independently, or as a noun modifier, whereas tsia5335 kai55/hia53-35kai55 may only be used independently. This generic use of demonstratives to denote an entire category is also attested for zhè~nà in Beijing Mandarin. Zhang and Fang (1996:156-157) point out that Beijing Mandarin zhè~nà can be followed by a noun and denote an entire category, and consider that in this use, zhè~nà is a kind of generic marker. However, it is obvious that unlike Hui’an tse2~hǝ2 and other demonstratives shown in Tables 5-3, 5-4 and 5-5, Beijing zhè~nà do not constitute specialized forms used to exclusively to denote an entire category (see, e.g. (4) and (5) above; Lü 1980).
5.2.5 Generic demonstratives: tsiɔŋ3-2e2 種其/hiɔŋ3-2e2 向其 Demonstratives tsiɔŋ3-2e2 and hiɔŋ3-2e2 can either co-occur with a noun such as tsin32 tsui3 井水 ‘well water’ in (58), or be used independently, as in (59). We show that they not only denote a specific representative of a category, but also an entire category. This distribution is similar to that of the other demonstratives described above, except for tsit7 and hit7. (58) 種其 井水 恰 好 ho3 tsiɔŋ3-2e2-4 tsin3-2-tsui3 khaʔ7-8 this well-water comparatively good ‘Well water is better (than running water).’ (59) 向其 恰 酸 hiɔŋ3-2e2 khaʔ7-8 sŋ1 that.kind.of comparatively sour ‘That kind (of apple) tastes sourer than (this kind of apple).’ In (58), people are comparing well water and running water, and thus tsiɔŋ3-2e2-4 tsin3-2tsui3 ‘well water’ is used to denote the entire category of ‘well water’. In (59),
Syntactic functions and semantic features | 85
people are talking about two kinds of apple they bought, and the demonstrative hiɔŋ3-2e2 is used to denote a specific member of the category ‘apple’. As illustrated by examples (58) and (59), demonstratives tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2 show the same basic syntactic functions and semantic features as demonstratives tse2~hǝ2 described in §5.2.4 above, but their usage is quite limited. In other words, in everyday speech, tse2~hǝ2 are much more common than tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2. As mentioned above, we hypothesize that tse2~hǝ2 may represent the fused forms of tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2. In addition, demonstratives tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2 may be contracted forms of tsit7-8tsiɔŋ3-2e2 ‘this kind of’ and hit7-8tsiɔŋ3-2e2 ‘that kind of’, in which demonstratives and the measure word tsiɔŋ3 種 ‘kind’ both keep their full original phonetic shape, and e2 is the general classifier. More investigation is required to ground this hypothesis. It should be mentioned, however, that unlike the two sets of tse2~hǝ2 (discussed in §5.2.4) and tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2 (discussed here), the full demonstrative phrases tsit7-8tsiɔŋ3(-2e2) ‘this kind of’ and hit7-8tsiɔŋ3(-2e2) ‘that kind of’ may only denote a specific representative of a category, and not an entire category. Demonstratives tsiɔŋ e~hiɔŋ e are so far also attested in Jinjiang (Lin 2012), but not in other Southern Min varieties. In addition, in Hui’an tse2~hǝ2 tend to be used in the examples provided in Lin (2012) for Jinjiang tsiɔŋ e~hiɔŋ e, even if tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2 are also acceptable. It should be mentioned that demonstratives tse~hǝ are not attested in Jinjiang. This may further support our hypothesis that Hui’an demonstratives tse2~hǝ2 are contracted forms of tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2.
5.2.6 Interim summary A brief summary of the syntactic distributions and semantic features of the five sets of nominal demonstratives in Hui’an is given in Table 5-6.
-
-
-
tsat8/hat8
tsuai2/huai2 -
-
+
+
+
-
after directly [NUM + before a CL] noun
tsit7/hit7
before [NUM + CL]
tsuai2/huai2(+NP)
tsat8/hat8(+NP)
+
+
tsit7/hit7(+NUM)+CL(+NP) -
+
+
-
+
+
-
animate & inanimate
animate & inanimate
animate & inanimate
plural entities; mass entity
singular entity
singular entity; plural entities; a member of an entire category
main syntactic structure alone as alone as modified by a animacy plurality the subject the ob- personal proand geor topic ject noun, etc. nericity
86 | Nominal demonstratives
Tab. 5-6: Syntactic distributions and semantic features of nominal demonstratives in the Hui’an dialect
+
-
tse2/hǝ2
+
(+)1
-
after [NUM + CL]
tsiɔŋ3-2e2/ hiɔŋ3-2e2
tse2/hǝ2
before [NUM + CL]
+
+
+
directly before a noun
(NUM +CL+)tse2/hǝ2(+NP)
(NUM+CL+)tsiɔŋ32 2 e /hiɔŋ3-2e2(+NP)
(NUM +CL+)tse2/hǝ2(+NP)
main syntactic structure
+
+
+
+
+
+
alone as alone as the subject the obor topic ject
+
+
+
animate & inanimate
animate & inanimate
animate & inanimate
modified by a animacy personal pronoun, etc.
a member of an entire category; an entire category
a member of an entire category; an entire category
a member of an entire category; an entire category
plurality and genericity
Syntactic functions and semantic features | 87
88 | Nominal demonstratives
5.2.7 Further discussion on the semantic features of Hui’an demonstratives Diessel (1999:35) classifies the meanings of demonstratives into two kinds: deictic features and qualitative features. Qualitative features ‘provide classificatory information about the referent […] for instance, whether the referent is animate or inanimate, female or male, or human or non-human’. In this section, we focus on the qualitative features of Hui’an nominal demonstratives by making a comparison with other Chinese varieties. The qualitative features fall into six categories: ontology, animacy, humanness, sex, number and boundedness (Diessel, 1999:47). Hui’an nominal demonstratives are marked only for number, not for any of the other five categories, that is, they distinguish two number features: singular and plural. This is the case for most languages described in Diessel’s (1999) sample: ‘Most languages distinguish between singular and plural forms only’ (Diessel, 1999:49). Hui’an nominal demonstratives, however, show two further qualitative features which are not mentioned in Diessel (1999:47). They mark: (a) type/category, that is, whether the referent is a type/category or token(s)/individual(s) e.g. tse2~hǝ2 and tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2 ‘this/that kind of’ serve as special forms indicating that the referent is a type/category, either an entire category or a specific member of a category, whereas other nominal demonstratives indicate that the referent is a token or a set of tokens. (b) genericity, that is, whether the referent is generic or specific e.g. tse2~hǝ2 (also tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2) have two main functions: either tse2~hǝ2 ‘this/that’ (also tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2 ‘this/that’) denote an entire category which is generic, or tse2~hǝ2 ‘this/that kind of’ (also tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2 ‘this/that kind of’) denote a member of an entire category, whereas all the other nominal demonstratives indicate that the referent is specific. As mentioned in §5.2.4 above, special forms for denoting ‘category’ are also attested in the Qionglin, Shantou and Jieyang varieties of Southern Min, whereas the use of the demonstratives as a generic marker is also attested in the Shantou and Jieyang varieties of Southern Min, and in Beijing Mandarin.
5.3 The pragmatic uses of Hui’an demonstratives Based on Diessel’s (1999:6) classification, we may distinguish two categories of pragmatic uses for demonstratives: (a) language-external functions and (b) language-internal functions. Language-external functions include exophoric use
The pragmatic uses of Hui’an demonstratives | 89
and recognitional use, of which exophoric use means that the demonstratives are “used with reference to entities in the surrounding situation”, and recognitional use indicates that “speaker and hearer are familiar with the referent due to shared experience”. Language-internal functions include anaphoric use and discourse deictic use, of which anaphoric use means that the demonstrative is “coreferential with a noun phrase in the preceding discourse”, and discourse deictic use means the demonstrative refers to “a chunk of the surrounding discourse” (Diessel, 1999:6). Note that exophoric use and recognitional use are considered as more basic than anaphoric use and discourse deictic use. In this section, we examine these pragmatic uses and some other uses of Hui’an demonstratives.
5.3.1 Language-external functions In Hui’an, the basic pragmatic use of both proximal and distal demonstratives is exophoric, that is, referring to a specific and individualized entity, to plural entities, to a member of a category, or to an entire category, via an object which is present in the surrounding situation. This usage is attested for all the five sets of demonstratives presented is §5.2. Let us take tsit7~hit7 as an example. (60) 汝 搬 即垛 lɯ3 puã1 tsit7-8-tǝ5 2SG move this-CL ‘You move this (chair)!’ (61) 我 穿 迄領 gua3 tshiŋ5-4 hit7-8-liã3 1SG wear that-CL ‘I will wear that piece (of clothing).’ In examples (60) and (61), tsit7-8tǝ5 ‘this (chair)’ and hit7-8liã3 ‘that piece (of clothing)’ both refer to an entity which is present in the speech situation and is visible to both the speaker and the hearer. The exophoric use implies that demonstratives are restricted to a local context, that is, a context where the referent should be present in the surrounding situation. This is then extended to a broader context in which the referent can be absent from the surrounding situation but has to be familiar both to the speaker and the hearer. This gives rise to the recognitional use, illustrated in (62) and (63).
90 | Nominal demonstratives
(62) 伫 厝裡 合 懷 孫 ti4 tshu5-3-lai4 kap7-8 huai2 sun1 at house-inside look.after those grandchild ‘(She is) at home looking after those grandchildren.’ (63) 我 感覺 口 工作 也 𣍐 否 gua3 kam3-2kak7-8 tsat8-4 kaŋ1tsɔk7 a4 bue4 phai3 1SG feel this job also cannot bad ‘I think this job of mine is not bad.’ The context of (62) involves people talking about one of their relatives and her grandchildren, neither being present in the surrounding situation. In this example, huai2 sun1 ‘those grandchildren’ is mentioned for the first time and used to refer to children who are known by both the speaker and the hearer. The distal demonstrative huai2 ‘those’ indicates that the speaker believes that the hearer will be able to identify the referent, due to their shared knowledge. The context of (63) is one where people are talking about whether to go back to school for a PhD degree. In this example, tsat8-4 kaŋ1tsɔk7 ‘this job’ is also mentioned for the first time and does not exist in the surrounding situation. Proximal demonstrative tsat8 ‘this’ indicates here that the speaker believes that the hearer knows the referent, and illustrates that a proximal demonstrative may have a recognitional use too. In other words, in examples (62) and (63) the referents of huai2 sun1 ‘those grandchildren’ and tsat8-4 kaŋ1tsɔk7 ‘this job’ are not present in the surrounding situation, but are identifiable by both the speaker and the hearer. Like the exophoric use, the recognitional use is also attested for each of the five sets of Hui’an demonstratives. Comparatively speaking, however, proximal demonstratives tend to be associated with the exophoric use, whereas distal demonstratives tend to have a recognitional use. From a context where the referent is not in the surrounding situation, but whose knowledge is shared by the speaker and the hearer, the use of these demonstratives may be further extended to contexts in which the speaker and the hearer do not share any common knowledge about a given referent at all, as in (64) and (65) where the referent is similarly not present in the speech context. (64) 迄搭 口 儂 咧 拍 伊 其 手機 7-8 7 8-4 2 7-8 7-8 1 2-4 hit -taʔ hat laŋ leʔ phaʔ i e tshiu3-2ki1 that-LOC that person PROG hit 3SG GEN cell.phone ‘That person there was calling him on his cell phone.’
The pragmatic uses of Hui’an demonstratives | 91
(65) 阮 老爸 老實, 去 交, gun3-2 lau4-pe4 lau3-2set8 khɯ5-3 kau1 1PL PREF-father honest go hand.in 𪜶 懷 計 無 交 en1 huai2 ke5-3 bo2-4 kau1 3PL those all not.have hand.in ‘My father handed (it) in since he is a honest man, while others didn’t hand (it) in.’ The context for (64) is that the speaker is explaining to her sister why her husband does not come along with her, the reason being that someone (‘that person’) was looking for her husband just when they were leaving home, which stopped her husband from going out. In fact, the hearer, i.e. the speaker’s sister, does not know the referent of hat8-4 laŋ2 ‘that person’ at all, which is mentioned for the first time and who does not appear in the speech situation. In (65), the speaker is talking about a past experience to someone whom he meets for the first time, en1 huai2 ‘they’ is mentioned for the first time and is not identifiable by the hearer. In this example, en1 huai2 ‘they’ is used in contrast with gun3-2 lau4pe4 ‘my father’, and whether it is identifiable for the hearer or not is not important to the speaker. Such a use of demonstratives, illustrated in examples (64) and (65), is typically found for distal demonstratives hat8 ‘that’ and huai2 ‘those’, and is relatively limited, compared to their exophoric and recognitional uses. While all uses mentioned so far are associated with specific reference, Hui’an demonstratives may also involve non-specific reference, especially when the proximal and distal demonstratives co-occur in the same sentence, as in examples (25) and (26) discussed in §5.2.1 above. Two further examples that do not involve co-occurrence of the proximal and distal demonstratives in the same sentence are given in (66) and (67) below. (66) 即隻 來, 即隻 去 tsit7-8-tsiaʔ7 lai2 tsit7-8-tsiaʔ7 khɯ5 this-CL come this-CL go ‘This (bus) comes here, and then this same (bus) leaves here.’
92 | Nominal demonstratives
(67) 蜀 垛 樓 蜀 垛 樓 離 蠻 遠 tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 lau2 tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 lau2 li5-4 ban2-4 hŋ4 one CL building one CL building apart.from rather far 即垛 樓, 停 蜀 把 車, tsit7-8-tǝ5-3 lau2 thiŋ2-4 tsit8-4 pe3-2 tshia1 this-CL building stop one CL vehicle 佫 兩 個 車位 koʔ7-8 lŋ4 e2-4 tshia1ui5 still two CL parking.space ‘There is much space between buildings. Take this building, even if there is a car there, there are still two parking spaces.’ In (66), the speaker is talking about the bus operation system, that is, the same bus arrives and then leaves soon after, which is in contrast with another system, where one bus arrives at the given location, and then another bus (rather than the one which just arrived) leaves in its place. In this sentence, the demonstrative phrase tsit7-8tsiaʔ7 ([this + classifier]) refers to any of many possible items, by way of example, rather than to a specific one. This example also illustrates that the same demonstrative phrase used twice in the same sentence may nonetheless still involve non-specific reference. In (67), the speaker is describing how much space there is between buildings in her residence community. The noun phrase tsit7-8tǝ5-3 lau2 ‘this building’ also refers to any one of many possible items, by way of example, rather than to a specific building. Due to one of their basic semantic features, distal demonstratives hǝ2 and 3-2 2 hiɔŋ e can introduce a general category which is mentioned for the first time, even when the referent is not present in the speech situation, if the knowledge is shared by everyone, that is, if it belongs to general knowledge, as exemplified by (68). (68) 阿姨 合 口 外國仔 照 a1-i2 kaʔ7-8 hǝ2 gua5-4kɔk7-8-a3 tsio5 PREF-aunt COMT that foreign-NM snap ‘Auntie took a picture with the foreigners.’ In (68), gua5-4kɔk7-8a3 ‘the foreigners’ refers to a type of person, which is neither mentioned in the preceding discourse nor present in the speech situation. It is not privately shared knowledge either, but general knowledge known to everyone in the community.
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Distal demonstratives hǝ2 and hiɔŋ3-2e2 (especially hǝ2) are also often used when the speaker is not willing to say something directly, as in (69). (69) 㑑 也 無 迄種 口, 㑑 呣免 lan3 a4 bo2-4 hit7-8-tsiɔŋ3-2 hǝ2 lan3 m5-4ben3 1PL also not.have that-kind that 1PL no.need ‘We don’t have that kind (of diseases/problems), (so) we don’t need (a massage).’ In (69), the speaker is sharing with her mother her opinions on massage, explaning to her why massage is not necessary. However, she does not want to say it directly for reasons of delicacy. The demonstrative hǝ2 here may refer to some diseases or problems, and is probably non-identifiable to the hearer. Example (70) below shows that distal demonstrative hǝ2 may be used when the speaker cannot find the right words to express something. (70) 恁 工作 會 口 𣍐, 會 辛苦 𣍐 len3 kaŋ1tsɔk7 e4 hǝ2 bue0 e4 sen1khɔ3 bue0 2PL work can that SFP can hard SFP ‘Is your job like that? Do you need to work hard?’ The context of example (70) is one where the speaker is asking the hearer whether the job is hard or not. Unlike (69), the speaker in this example temporarily cannot think of the word sen1khɔ3 ‘painstaking, hard’, and thus uses the demonstrative hǝ2 instead, partially in order to avoid pausing too long.
5.3.2 Language-internal functions In this section, we discuss two language-internal functions observed for Hui’an demonstratives, that is, anaphoric use and discourse deictic use. All demonstratives have anaphoric uses, illustrated in (71) and (72).
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(71) 𪜶 迄個 組 其 組長 en1 hit7-8-e2-4 tsɔ3 e2-4 tsɔ3-2tiũ3 3PL that-CL team GEN group.leader 按 北京 過來, an5-3 pak7-8kiã1 kǝ5lai0 from PN come.over 迄孤 儂 能力 野 懸 7-8 1 2 2-4 8 3-2 hit -kɔ laŋ liŋ liak ia kuin2 that-CL person ability quite high ‘Their team leader came from Beijing. That person is very competent.’ (72) 我 有 看 著 搭 張 口 咧, gua3 u4 khuã5-3 tsioʔ8-4 taʔ7-8 tiũ1 tse2 leʔ0 1SG have look PVC stick CL this SFP 搭 張 口 是 超市 其, 是 呣 7-8 1 2 4 1 4 taʔ tiũ hǝ si tshiau tshi e2 si4 m0 stick CL that be supermarket GEN be SFP ‘I saw a piece of (label) like this stuck (on the bag). The fact that a piece of (label) like that is stuck (on the bag) shows that it is (bought) from the supermarket, doesn’t it?’ In (71), hit7-8kɔ1 laŋ2 ‘that person’ is co-referential with the noun phrase en1 hit7-8e24 tsɔ3 e2-4 tsɔ3-2tiũ3 ‘their team leader’. In (72), the proximal demonstrative tse2 is used to refer to a label like the one present in the surrounding context, while the distal demonstrative hǝ2 can be interpreted as being co-referential with proximal demonstrative tse2. The following examples illustrate the discourse deictic use of Hui’an demonstratives.
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(73) A: 著 等 正月 則 佫 賣 tioʔ8-4 tan3-2 tsiã1gǝʔ8 tsiaʔ7-8 koʔ7-8 bue4 have.to wait January then again sell ‘We may not finish selling (the furniture) until the first month of the lunar year.’ B: 即條 有影, tsit7-8-tiau2 u4iã3 this-CL right 今年 逐個 趕 遘 呀 ken1-lin2 tak8-4-e2 kuã3 a3 ia0 this-year every-CL busy EVC SFP ‘You’re right. Everyone is so busy this year.’ (74) A: 買 蜀點仔, 豬牢仔 bue3 tsit8-4tiǝm3-2a3 tɯ1tiau2-4-a3 buy a.bit pigsty-DIM ‘(They) bought a small (house), like a small pigsty.’ B: 說 懷 sǝʔ7 huai2 say those ‘You should not talk like that.’ (lit. ‘say those’) The context of example (73) is that the furniture business has been not good during the past months. Speaker A says that the business may be better during the first month of the lunar year, when Chinese people will have a long vacation and will buy some furniture for the New Year. Speaker B agrees with speaker A, since she thinks that everybody has been quite busy and thus has had no time to buy any furniture in the past months. In this example, the demonstrative phrase tsit78 tiau2 ‘this’ ([demonstrative + classifier]) refers to what speaker A said, that is, tioʔ8-4 tan3-2 tsiã1gǝʔ8 tsiaʔ7-8 koʔ7-8 bue4 ‘may not finish selling until the first month of the lunar year’. The discourse deictic use of the demonstratives tsit7~hit7 is limited to demonstrative phrases such as tsit7-8tiau2 in (73), and tsit7-8/hit7-8tsiɔŋ3 ‘this/that kind of’, which can refer to a proposition or an event. In (73), tiau2 is a classifier for invisible and abstract entities, though is also used for concrete objects with a long shape such as kau1 溝 ‘ditch’ and len5-4a3 鏈仔 ‘necklace’. Other demonstrative phrases such as tsit7-8tǝ5 即垛 ‘this piece of’ usually denote a specific and individualized entity, and thus do not have this kind of discourse deictic use. The context of example (74) is that people are talking about the new house that the speaker A’s daughter has just bought. Speaker A speaks in a modest way,
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and says that her daughter bought a small one, like a small pigsty. Speaker B is unhappy about this expression, and replies rhetorically with sǝʔ7 huai2 which literally means ‘say those’, but actually means ‘you should not say things like that’. In this example, demonstrative huai2 is used to refer to what speaker A said, that is, tɯ1tiau2-4a3 ‘a small pigsty’. Examples (73) and (74) also illustrate that both proximal and distal demonstratives can have a discourse deictic use. In addition, in these two examples, demonstratives both refer to a chunk of the preceding discourse. The discourse deictic use is also found for demonstratives tse2~hǝ2 and tsiɔŋ32 2 e ~hiɔŋ3-2e2, especially tse2~hǝ2, which are actually the most prevalent in discourse deictic use in Hui’an. They can be used cataphorically as well to refer to a chunk of the following discourse, as in (75). (75) 即瓶 是 口 tsit7-8-pan2 si4 hǝ2 this-bottle be that 是 𪜶 老爸 si4 en1 lau4-pe4 be 3PL PREF-father ‘This bottle (of coffee) from Guangzhou.’
呀, ia0 SFP 廣州 帶 kŋ3-2tsiu1 tua5 PN bring is like that: …It’s
來 lai0 come been brought back by their father
In (75), the speaker is explaining to the hearer why there is a bottle of coffee at home, and the distal demonstrative hǝ2 refers to the clause en1 lau4pe4 kŋ3-2tsiu1 tua5 lai0 ‘their father brought (it) from Guangzhou’ . In other words, hǝ2 here is used to introduce a proposition.
5.4 Summary This chapter first clarified the terms ‘demonstratives’ and ‘nominal demonstratives’, and how they differ from the term zhĭshì dàicí 指示代詞 (lit. ‘deictic substitute word’) widely used in Chinese linguistics. We have also shown that compared to some other Chinese varieties such as Mandarin, Yue, Wu and Hakka, Min shows a relatively complicated nominal demonstrative system. The discussion then focused on five sets of nominal demonstratives observed for the Hui’an dialect, i.e. (i) tsit7~hit7; (ii) tsat8~hat8; (iii) tsuai2~huai2; (iv) tse2~hǝ2; and (v) tsiɔŋ32 2 e ~hiɔŋ3-2 e2. Four out of these five sets can both directly modify a noun and be used independently. One of these sets, tsit7~hit7, has however to co-occur with the complex [numeral + classifier], i.e. these demonstratives cannot directly modify
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a noun, nor be used independently. Furthermore, spoken data show that demonstratives tse2~hǝ2, unlike other demonstratives, can be preceded by the complex [numeral + classifier], due to their ability to refer to a category or a member of an entire category. Similar to nominal demonstratives in other Southern Min varieties, nominal demonstratives in Hui’an, probably involve syllable contraction: (a) tsit7~hit7 are probably fused forms of the demonstrative tsi 只~hi 許 and the general classifier e2; (b) tsat8~hat8 are probably fused forms of tsit7~hit7 and the general classifier e2; (c) tsuai2~huai2 are probably fused forms of tsit7~hit7 and a plural/collective classifier; (d) tse2~hǝ2 are probably fused forms of tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hiɔŋ3-2e2; and (e) tsiɔŋ32 2 e ~hiɔŋ3-2e2 are probably fused forms of tsit7-8tsiɔŋ3-2e2~hit7-8tsiɔŋ3-2e2. Although the details of the fusion process have to be further documented for some cases, evidence gathered from cross-dialectal comparison within the Min groups, as well as from a semantic and syntactic analysis of these demonstrative forms, show that the five sets of Hui’an nominal demonstratives are likely to be closely related to each other. Semantically speaking, the demonstrative phrases involving tsit7~hit7 usually refer to a specific entity, to plural entities, or to a member of an entire category, depending on the following complex [numeral + classifier]. The demonstratives tsat8~hat8 only refer to a specific and individualized entity, whereas tsuai2~huai2 usually refer to plural entities or to a mass entity. Both tse2~hǝ2 and tsiɔŋ3-2 e2~hiɔŋ3-2 e2 can denote a specific member of an entire category or a general category. Nominal demonstratives in Hui’an distinguish two number features: singular and plural, like most languages observed in Diessel (1999)’s sample. Interestingly, however, tse2~hǝ2 and tsiɔŋ3-2 e2~hiɔŋ3-2 e2 serve as special forms indicating that the referent is a type/category, no matter whether they denote an entire category or a specific member of a category. This usage has been so far attested also in some other Southern Min varieties such as the Qionglin, Shantou and Jieyang varieties, but not in other Chinese varieties. When denoting a general category, tse2~hǝ2 function as a generic marker, a use which is also found in the Shantou and Jieyang varieties of Southern Min, and in Beijing Mandarin. In terms of their pragmatic uses, Hui’an nominal demonstratives involve (a) exophoric use: with reference to entities in the surrounding situation; (b) recognitional use: speaker and hearer are familiar with the referent due to shared experience; (c) anaphoric use: coreferential with a noun phrase in the preceding discourse; and (d) discourse deictic uses: with reference to a chunk of the surrounding discourse. Besides these various uses, Hui’an nominal demonstratives may also refer to entities which are not in the surrounding situation, no matter
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whether they are shared by the speaker and the hearer or not, or may refer to entities which are not in the surrounding situation, but are shared by everyone’s general knowledge. Distal demonstrative hǝ2 can also be used as a substitute to replace a word that the speaker is not willing to speak out, or when the speaker cannot find the proper word for (s)he wants to say.
6 Numerals and quantifiers 6.1 Introduction This chapter aims to give a brief introduction to numerals and quantifiers in Hui’an.
6.2 Numerals As with other Chinese varieties, the Hui’an dialect uses a decimal system.
6.2.1 Cardinal numbers The numbers 0 through 10 are shown in Table 6-1 below. Tab. 6-1: The numbers 0 through 10 in the Hui’an dialect
Colloquial reading 0
Literary reading
liŋ2 零 khɔŋ5 空
1
et7 一 tsit8 蜀
2
li5 二 lŋ4 兩
liɔŋ3 兩
1
3
sã 三
sam1 三
4
si5 四
sɯ5 四
5
4
gɔ3 五
gɔ 五 8
6
lak 六
7
tshet7 七
liɔk8 六
tshiak7 七 8
pueʔ7 八
pat7 八
9
3
kau 九
kiu3 九
10
tsap8 十
siǝp8 十
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-006
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Basically speaking, compound numbers in Hui’an are formed in the same order as in English, with multiples of ten preceding the units, as illustrated by (1) – (3). (1)
二十一 li5-4tsap8-4et7 twenty.one ‘twenty one’
(2) 三百 四十五 sã1paʔ7 si5-3tsap8-4gɔ4 three.hundred forty.five ‘three hundred and forty five’ 六十六 (3) 五千 三百 gɔ4tshiŋ1 sã1paʔ7 lak8-4tsap8-4lak8 five.thousand three.hundred sixty.six ‘five thousand three hundred and sixty six’ Though the tens may precede the units in both English and the Hui’an dialect as shown by (1) – (3), multiples of ten in Hui’an are morphologically transparent, e.g. li5-4tsap8 ‘twenty’ literally means ‘two tens’. As in other Chinese varieties, there are special forms for ‘ten thousand’ ban5 萬 and ‘hundred million’ iak7 億. Examples are given in (4) and (5). By way of contrast, there is no word for a million (nor for a billion). These are formed by respectively using paʔ7-8ban5 百萬 (lit. hundred ten.thousand) and tsap8-4iak7 十億 (lit. ten hundred.million), as shown in Table 6-2 below, a summary of the main forms greater than ‘ten’. (4) 蜀萬 兩千 三百 二十二 tsit8-4ban5 lŋ4tshiŋ1 sã1paʔ7 li5-4tsap8-4li5 one.ten thousand two.thousand three.hundred twenty.two ‘twelve thousand three hundred and twenty two’ (5) 六億 五千萬 lak8-4iak7 gɔ4tshiŋ1ban5 six.hundred million five thousand.ten thousand ‘six hundred and fifty million’
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Tab. 6-2: The main forms above ‘ten’ in the Hui’an dialect
Numerals
Hui’an
English
100
paʔ7 百
hundred
1,000
tshiŋ1 千
thousand
10,000
ban5 萬
ten thousand
8-4
5
100,000
tsap ban 十萬
hundred thousand
1,000,000
paʔ7-8ban5 百萬
million
10,000,000
tshiŋ1ban5 千萬
ten million
100,000,000
iak7 億
hundred million
1000,000,000
8-4
7
tsap iak 十億
billion
The intermediate zero before the final digit is usually spelt out explicitly, as exemplified by (6), where liŋ2 or khɔŋ 5 is inserted between tshet7-8paʔ7 ‘seven hundred’ and pueʔ7 ‘eight’. Note that khɔŋ5 is more commonly used than liŋ2, the latter found in Mandarin Chinese. (6) 七百 零/空 八 tshet7-8paʔ7 liŋ2-4/khɔŋ5-3 pueʔ7 seven.hundred zero eight ‘seven hundred and eight’ As with other Southern Min varieties, there are two sets of numerals for 1 and 2 in Hui’an, that is, et7 一 ‘one’/li5 二 ‘two’ and tsit8 蜀 ‘one’/lŋ4 兩 ‘two’, for which Zhou and Ouyang (1998:361) suggest different lexical sources. Both sets can be used for counting. For the numbers ‘one’ and ‘two’, tsit8 and lŋ4 are more commonly used than et7 and li5. The latter set is typically used by the younger generation. Moreover, only tsit8 and lŋ4, but not et7 and li5, can co-occur with a classifier (see chapter 7). For the numbers ‘eleven’ through 99, et7 and li5, instead of tsit8 and lŋ4, are used. For example, li5-4tsap8-4et7 is used for ‘twenty one’, as shown by (1) above. For numbers larger than 99, tsit8 and lŋ4 occur as modifiers before paʔ7 ‘hundred’, tshiŋ1 ‘thousand’ and ban5 ‘ten thousand’, etc., whereas et7 and li5 occur in other positions, as shown in example (4) above. For the numbers ‘eleven’ through 19, the numeral et7 before tsap8 is usually omitted, as illustrated by (7). However, for numbers larger than 100, the numeral et7 before tsap8 is usually not omitted, as in (8).
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(7) (一)十三 (et7-8)tsap8-4sã1 Thirteen ‘thirteen’ (8) 七百 一十二 tshet7-8paʔ7 et7-8tsap8-4li5 seven.hundred twelve ‘seven hundred and twelve’ For numbers which end in tsap8 ‘ten’, paʔ7 ‘hundred’ or tshiŋ1 ‘thousand’, the ending tsap8, paʔ7 and tshiŋ1 sometimes can be omitted, as in (9) and (10). (9) 三百 五(十) gɔ4(tsap8) sã1paʔ7(-8) three.hundred fifty ‘three hundred and fifty’ (10) 五千 六(百) 4 1 gɔ tshiŋ lak8(-4paʔ7) five.thousand six.hundred ‘five thousand and six hundred’ If the first digit is tsit8 ‘one’, tsit8 can be omitted too, as in (11) and (12). (11) (蜀)百 五(十) (tsit8-4)paʔ7 gɔ4(tsap8) one.hundred fifty ‘one hundred and fifty’ (12) (蜀)千 六(百) 8-4 1 (tsit )tshiŋ lak8(-4paʔ7) one.thousand six.hundred ‘one thousand and six hundred’ When followed by a digit from ‘one’ to ‘nine’, the numbers li5-4tsap8 ‘twenty’, sã1tsap8 ‘thirty’ and si5-3tsap8 ‘forty’ are often contracted, as in (13), in which, for example, li5-4tsap8 becomes liǝp8, whereas the numbers gɔ4tsap8 ‘fifty’, lak8-4tsap8
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‘sixty’, tshet7-8tsap8 ‘seventy’, pueʔ7-8tsap8 ‘eighty’ and kau3-2tsap8 ‘ninety’ often leave out tsap8 ‘ten’, as in (14). (13) a. 二十一 ‘twenty one’:li5-4tsap8-4et7 -> liǝp8-4et7 b. 三十一 ‘thirty one’:sã1tsap8-4et7 -> sam1et7 c. 四十一 ‘forty one’:si5-3tsap8-4et7 -> siǝp8-4et7 (14) a. b. c. d. e.
五十一:gɔ4tsap8-4et7 -> gɔ4et7 六十一:lak8-4tsap8-4et7 -> lak8-4et7 七十一:tshet7-8tsap8-4et7 -> tshet7-8et7 八十一:pueʔ7-8tsap8-4et7 -> pueʔ7-8et7 九十一:kau3-2tsap8-4et7 -> kau3-2et7
As with other Southern Min varieties (also some other Chinese varieties such as Wu), the Hui’an dialect possesses two different pronunciations for many Chinese characters : one is the colloquial reading, and the other, the literary reading. The former is normally used in vernacular speech, whereas the latter is generally found in formal settings. As shown in Table 6-1 above, numerals ‘two’ through ‘ten’ except ‘seven’ all have a literary reading, as shown by (15). (15) 2: lŋ4 (colloquial); liɔŋ3 (literary): liɔŋ3-2tsuan2ki2-4bi3 兩全其美 ‘kill two birds with one stone’ 3: sã1 (colloquial); sam1 (literary): sam1tsan2-4baʔ7 三層肉 ‘marbled meat’ 4: si5 (colloquial); sɯ5 (literary): sɯ5-3tshuan1 四川 ‘Sichuan’ (Place Name) 5: gɔ4 (colloquial); gɔ3 (literary): gɔ3-2et7 五一 ‘1 May’ 6: lak8 (colloquial); liɔk8 (literary): bi3-2 liɔk8-4 gɔ3 米六五 ‘165 cm (tall)’ 8: pueʔ7 (colloquial); pat7 (literary): sam1pat7 hu4lɯ3-2tsueʔ7 三八婦女節 ‘8 March International Women’s Day’ 9: kau3 (colloquial); kiu3 (literary): et7-8 kiu3 kiu3-2 li5 一九九二 ‘1992’ 10: tsap8 (colloquial); siǝp8 (literary): siǝp8-4li5-4 lɔ5-4khau3 十字路口 ‘crossroad’ Unlike the numeral ‘seven’ in Xiamen and Zhangzhou which has only one pronunciation (Zhou and Ouyang 1998:361, Zhou 2006:586), the numeral ‘seven’ in Hui’an has two pronunciations: (a) tshet7, which bears the same functions as the colloquial reading of the numerals in (15); (b) tshiak7, which is mainly used by the elder generation. This may suggest that tshiak7 emerged earlier than tshet7, while noting that both belong to the colloquial layer. An example of tshiak7 is found in tshiak7-8gǝʔ8 七月‘July’.
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6.2.2 Ordinal numbers Ordinal numbers can be formed by adding the prefix te5 第 before the cardinal number, as in (16) and (17). (16) 第一, 汝 是 大學生 te5-4-et7 lɯ3 si4 tua5-4oʔ8-4siŋ1 PREF-one 2SG be university.student ‘Firstly, you are a university student.’ (17) 第二日 阮搭 請 5-4 5-4 8 3 7 te -li -let gun -taʔ tshiã3 PREF-two-day 1PL-LOC feast ‘The second day, (we) feast (our relatives and friends) at our place.’ As shown by examples (16) and (17), et7 and li5, rather than tsit8 and lŋ4, are used with the prefix te5 for ordinal numbers. In (16), te5-4et7 is used alone meaning ‘firstly’. In this case, the prefix te5 can also be omitted, that is, et7 can be used alone to express the same meaning. In (17), te5-4li5 ‘second’ is followed by the noun let8 ‘day’. However, in this case, the prefix te5 cannot be omitted. The morpheme thau2 頭, rather than te5 第, is used to express ‘first’, when the ordinal number is followed by other elements such as the noun let8 ‘day’ in (18) below. (18) 頭蜀日 恁搭 請 thau2-4-tsit8-4-let8 len3-taʔ7 tshiã3 PREF-one-day 2PL-LOC feast ‘The first day, (you) feast (your relatives and friends) at your place.’ Note that the numeral tsit8, rather than et7, is used with thau2. The numeral tsit8 here can also be omitted, that is, thau2-4let8 can be used alone to express the same meaning. When occurring with other numerals, thau2 expresses a different meaning from the prefix te5. For example, thau2-4lŋ4let8 頭兩日, where thau2 is followed by the numeral lŋ4 ‘two’ and the noun let8 ‘day’, means ‘the first two days’, rather than ‘the second day’. The prefix te5 can be followed by bǝ3 尾 to express ‘the last’, as in (19).
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(19) 第尾名 te5-4-bǝ3-2-biã2 PREF-end-place ‘the last place’ In fact, the prefix te5 in (19) can be omitted, that is, bǝ3 尾 alone can express ‘the last’, as illustrated by (20) and (21). (20) 尾名 bǝ3-2-biã2 end-place ‘the last place’ (21) 尾二名 bǝ3-2-li5-4-biã2 end-two-place ‘the last but one’ There are also other ways to express ordinal numbers. For example, a cardinal number can be followed by the noun lau2 樓 ‘floor’ to express the number of floors in a building, as in (22). (22) 二樓 li5-4-lau2 two-floor ‘the second floor’ A similar example can be found in (23), where the cardinal numer si5 四, followed by ho5 號 ‘number’ and lau2 樓 ‘building’, expresses the number of building. (23) 四號樓 si5-3-ho5-4-lau2 four-number-building ‘No.4 building’ A cardinal number can also occur before tiɔŋ1 中 and sio3 小 to express the names of middle schools and primary schools, such as ‘No. 1 Middle School’ in (24) and ‘No. 2 Primary School’ in (25).
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(24) 一中 et7-8-tiɔŋ1 one-middle.school ‘No.1 Middle School’ (25) 二小 li5-4-sio3 two-primary.school ‘No. 2 Primary School’ In these two examples, et7-8tiɔŋ1 and li5-4sio3 can be regarded as abbreviations of te5-4et7-8 tiɔŋ1oʔ8 and te5-4li5-4 sio3-2oʔ8, respectively, in which, tiɔŋ1oʔ8 and sio3-2oʔ8 mean ‘middle school’ and ‘primary school’, respectively. The following is an example where a cardinal number is followed by a kinship term. (26) 三姊 sã1-tsi3 three-sister ‘the third oldest sister’ In (26), the cardinal number sã1 ‘three’ is placed before tsi3 ‘sister’ to refer to ‘the third oldest sister’. When referring to the eldest or the youngest, however, the kinship terms are usually formed in a different way, as illustrated by (27) and (28), respectively. (27) 阿姨 / 大姨 1 2 a -i / tua5-4-i2 PREF- aunt / big-aunt ‘the eldest aunt’ (28) 尾姑 bǝ3-2-kɔ1 end-aunt ‘the youngest aunt’ In (27), the prefix a1 阿 or tua5 ‘big’ precedes i2 姨 to refer to the eldest aunt (the eldest sister of one’s mother), whereas in (28), bǝ3 ‘end’ occurs before kɔ1 姑 to refer to the youngest aunt (the youngest sister of one’s father).
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There are three main ways to express the ranking of children in a family: (a) the prefix a1 阿 + cardinal number, such as a1sã1 阿三 in (29); (b) the prefix lau 老 + cardinal number, such as lau4sã1 老三 in (30); and (c) cardinal number + e0 其, such as sã1e0 三其 in (31). Note that when referring to the first child in a family, the adjective tua5 大, rather than the cardinal number et7 一, is used, as shown by (32). (29) 阿三 a1-sã1 PREF-three ‘the third child’ (30) 老三 lau4-sã1 PREF-three ‘the third child’ (31) 三其 sã1-e0 three-PRT ‘the third child’ (32) 老大 lau3-2-tua5 PREF-big ‘the first child’ The prefix tshue1 初 is used with the cardinal numbers from et7 一 ‘one’ through tsap8 十 ‘ten’ to denote the first ten days of a lunar month, as illustrated by (33). (33) 初六 tshue1-lak8 PREF-six ‘the sixth day of a lunar month’ The following example shows that a cardinal number such as gɔ4 五 ‘five’ can occur before the noun gǝʔ8 月 ‘month’ (without a prefix) to express one of the twelve months of the year.
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(34) 五月 gɔ4-gǝʔ8 five-month ‘May’ According to the examples above, ordinal numbers in Hui’an are normally formed by adding the prefix te5 第 before the cardinal number, that is, ‘ordinal number = te5 第 + cardinal number’. In some cases, a cardinal number is able to precede a noun without the prefix te5 第 to express an ordinal meaning, as in li54 lau2 二樓 ‘the second floor’ in (22) above. The morpheme bǝ3 尾 (< ‘tail’) can also be used before a cardinal number or noun to express ‘last’, while tshue1 初 is used with cardinal numbers to denote the first ten days of a lunar month. In contrast to this, cardinal numbers are based on a decimal system. Thus, multiples of ten are formed with the multiplier preceding the multiplicand: number x multiple of ten 三百 sã1paʔ7 ‘three hundred’ while for the units which follow the multiples of ten, the process is additive: ten + number 十三 tsap8-4sã1 ten-three ‘thirteen’.
6.2.3 Approximate numbers In Hui’an, the most common way to express approximate numbers is the juxtaposition of two adjacent numbers, as exemplified by (35) and (36). (35) 蜀 兩 千 tsit8-4 lŋ4 tshiŋ1 one two thousand ‘around one to two thousand’ (36) 煮 兩 三 碗 tsɯ3 lŋ4 sã1 uã3 cook two three bowl ‘cook two to three bowls (of noodles)’ In (35), the two adjacent numbers tsit8 ‘one’ and lŋ4 ‘two’ are juxtaposed to express an approximate number. Note that when expressing approximate numbers, tsit8 and lŋ4, rather than et7 ‘one’ and li5 ‘two’, are used. In (36), the two adjacent numbers lŋ4 ‘two’ and sã1 ‘three’ are juxtaposed to express an approximate number. As shown by these two examples, the number with a smaller value usually
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precedes the number with a larger value. However, there are also counterexamples to this, as in (37) below, where the number sã1 ‘three’ precedes lŋ4 ‘two’. (37) 無 三 兩 日 咯 sã1 lŋ4 let8 lɔ0 bo2-4 not.have three two day SFP ‘There is little time left.’ (‘lit. not have three or two days’) The juxtaposition of two non-adjacent numbers involves sã1 ‘three’ and gɔ4 ‘five’, as in the fixed expression illustrated by (38). (38) 三 五 分鐘 sã1 gɔ4 hun1tsiŋ1 three five minute ‘around three to five minutes.’ A whole number can be followed by gua5 外 or thɔ3 吐 to express approximate numbers, as in (39) and (40). (39) 百 外 斤 paʔ7-8 gua5-4 kǝn1 hundred around MW ‘one hundred-something catty’ (40) 三十 吐 歲 sã1tsap8-4 thɔ3-2 hǝ5 thirty around year ‘thirty-something years old’
6.3 Quantifiers Quantifiers in Hui’an mainly include kui1 規 ‘whole’, sɔ3-2u4 所有 ‘all’, tak8 逐 ‘every’, kɔk7 各 ‘each’, ia3-2tsue5 野儕 ‘many’, ban2-4tsue5 蠻儕 ‘many’, kui3 幾 ‘several’, kui3-2loʔ8 幾落 ‘several, quite a few’, u4e0 有其 ‘some’ and tsuai2 ‘some’. When modifying a noun, the quantifier kui1 is typically used with a classifier such as liã3 領 in (41), or a measure word such as uã3 碗 in (42). Note that in daily conversation, the nouns modified by the quantifier kui1 and its following classifier or measure word, such as sã1 衫 ‘clothes’ and thŋ1 湯 ‘soup’ in (41) and (42)
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respectively, are usually omitted, since the semantic properties of the classifier or measure word allow for the correct inference. (41) 規 領 衫 kui1 liã3-2 sã1 whole CL clothes ‘the whole piece of clothing’ (42) 規 碗 湯 kui1 uã3-2 thŋ1 whole bowl soup ‘the whole bowl of soup’ The quantifier kui1 can be directly followed by some nouns such as let8 日 ‘day’ and bin2 暝 ‘night’. An example of kui1let8 規日 ‘all day long, all the time’ is given in (43). (43) 規日 落雨 kui1-let8 loʔ8-4-hɔ4 whole-day fall-rain ‘It rained all the time.’ The quantifier sɔ3-2u4 所有 ‘all’, which is commonly used in Mandarin Chinese, can also be found in Hui’an, as shown by (44), where sɔ3-2u4 directly modifies the noun tai5-4tsi5 代志 ‘thing’. Note, however, that this quantifier is uncommon, and, when used, it is typically by the younger generation. (44) 按 所有 代志 說 an5-3 sɔ3-2u4 tai5-4tsi5 sǝʔ7 OM all thing say ‘Make all things clear.’
與 khɔ5-4 give
伊 清楚 i1 tshiŋ1tshɔ3 3SG clear
Like kui1 mentioned above, the quantifier tak8 逐 ‘every’, is typically used with a classifier such as e2 個 in (45), or a measure word such as sen1 身 in (46), when modifying a noun.
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(45) 逐 個 儂 tak8-4 e2-4 laŋ2 every CL person ‘every person’ (46) 逐 身 衫褲 tak8-4 sen1 sã1khɔ5 every MW clothes ‘every suit of clothes’ Note that the classifier e2 in (45) can be omitted, that is, the quantifier tak8 can be used alone with the noun laŋ2 ‘person’ to express the same meaning. Other nouns which can directly follow the quantifier tak8 are typically the class of temporal nouns, as in (47), where tak8 directly modifies the noun referring to a period of time, let8 日‘day’. (47) 逐日 tak8-4-let8 every-day ‘every day’ The quantifier tak8 with its following classifier (or measure word) is often used alone, without a head noun, as in (48). (48) 逐個 都 有 厝 tak8-4-e2 tɔ1 u4 tshu5 every-CL all have house ‘Every one has a house.’ As shown by (48), the quantifier tak8 is often used with the adverb tɔ1 都 ‘all’. The adverb tɔ1 here is an important way to express quantification, and thus can be regarded as a quantifier in a broader sense. In Hui’an, ‘each person’ is encoded by kɔk7-8 laŋ2 各儂, as in (49). (49) 各 儂 做 各 儂 其 代志 7-8 2 5-3 7-8 2 2-4 kɔk laŋ tsue kɔk laŋ e tai5-4tsi5 each person do each person GEN thing ‘Each person does his own thing.’
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The Hui’an dialect uses ia3-2tsue5 野儕 and ban2-4tsue5 蠻儕 to express ‘many’, as illustrated by (50) and (51). (50) 野儕 學堂 來 招 儂 ia3-2tsue5-4 oʔ8-4tŋ2 lai2-4 tsio1 laŋ2 many school come recruit person ‘Quite a lot of schools come to (our university) to recruit our students.’ (51) 車頂 有 蠻儕 位置 tshia1-tiŋ3 u4 ban2-4tsue5-4 ui5-4ti5 vehicle-up have many place ‘There are quite a lot of seats on the train.’ Both ia3-2tsue5 and ban2-4tsue5 are originally formed by a degree adverb (i.e. ia3 ‘quite’ and ban2 ‘rather’, respectively) and the adjective tsue5 ‘many’, which form compounds meaning ‘many, quite a few’. They can both directly modify a noun such as oʔ8-4tŋ2 ‘school’ in (50) and ui5-4ti5 ‘place’ in (51). The quantifiers kui3 幾 ‘several’ and kui3-2loʔ8 幾落 ‘several, quite a few’ are used with a classifier (or measure word) such as tiau2 條 to modify a noun such as pan1tshia1suã5 班車線 ‘shuttle bus line’ in (52). (52) 幾(落) 條 班車線 tiau2-4 pan1tshia1-suã5 kui3-2(loʔ8-4) (quite) a few CL shuttle.bus-line ‘(quite) a few shuttle bus lines ’ Like kui1 and tak8 mentioned above, the quantifiers kui3 and kui3-2loʔ8 can directly modify some nouns such as lin2 年 ‘year’ in (53). (53) 教 幾(落) 年 kui3-2(loʔ8-4) lin2 ka5 teach (quite) a few year ‘(He) has been a teacher for (quite) a few years.’ The quantifiers u4e0 有其 and tsuai2 both mean ‘some’, and can both directly modify a noun such as laŋ2 儂 ‘person’ in (54) and te2-4hioʔ8 茶葉 ‘tea’ in (55).
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(54) 有其 儂 規日 卜 食魚食肉 u4e0 laŋ2 kui1-let8 boʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8-4-hɯ2-tsiaʔ8-4-baʔ7 some person whole-day want eat-fish-eat-meat ‘Some people always want to live the high life.’ (55) 帶 口 茶葉 tua5-3 tsuai2-4 te2-4hioʔ8 take some tea ‘Take some tea.’
去 khɯ5 go
The co-occurrence of each quantifier with or without a classifier (or measure word) is summarized in Table 6-3 below. Tab. 6-3: The co-occurrence of each quantifier with or without a classifier (or measure word)
With CL/MW Without CL/MW kui1 規 ‘whole’
+
+ (temporal nouns such as let8 日 ‘day’)
sɔ3-2u4 所有 ‘all’
-
+
tak8 逐 ‘every’
+
+ (temporal nouns; the noun laŋ2 儂 ‘person’)
kɔk7 各 ‘each’
-
+ (the noun laŋ2 儂 ‘person’)
ia3-2tsue5 野儕 ‘many’ ban2-4tsue5 蠻儕 ‘many’
-
+
kui3 幾 ‘several’ kui3-2loʔ8 幾落 ‘several, quite a few’
+
+ (temporal nouns)
u4e0 有其 ‘some’ tsuai2 ‘some’
-
+
6.4 Summary In this chapter, we have examined numerals and quantifiers in Hui’an, among which numerals fall into three subtypes: cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers and approximate numbers.
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As with other Chinese varieties, the Hui’an dialect uses a decimal system. There are special forms for ‘ten thousand’ (i.e. ban5 萬) or ‘hundred million’ (i.e. iak7 億). There is, however, no word for a ‘million’ nor for a ‘billion’. Similar to other Southern Min varieties, there are two sets of numerals for 1 and 2 in Hui’an, that is, et7 一 ‘one’/li5 二 ‘two’ and tsit8 蜀 ‘one’/lŋ4 兩 ‘two’. Numerals ‘two’ through ‘ten’ except ‘seven’ have both a colloquial reading and a literary reading. Unlike some other Southern Min varieties (e.g. Xiamen and Zhangzhou) where the numeral ‘seven’ has only one pronunciation, the numeral ‘seven’ in Hui’an has two colloquial pronunciations, i.e. tshet7 and tshiak7, the latter of the two being mainly used by the elder generation. Ordinal numbers are typically formed by adding the prefix te5 第 before the cardinal number, that is, ‘ordinal number = te5 第 + cardinal number’. In some cases, a cardinal number precedes a noun without the prefix te5 第 to express an ordinal meaning, as in li5-4lau2 二樓 ‘the second floor’. The morpheme bǝ3 尾 (< ‘tail’) can also be used before a cardinal number or noun to express ‘last’, while tshue1 初 is used with cardinal numbers to denote the first ten days of a lunar month. The most common way to express approximate numbers is the juxtaposition of two adjacent numbers. The juxtaposition of two non-adjacent numbers is also possible. In addition, a whole number can be followed by gua5 外 or thɔ3 吐 to express approximate numbers. Quantifiers have also been examined: some of which require a classifier, while others not.
7 Classifiers 7.1 Introduction As with other Chinese varieties, numerals (and some quantifiers) cannot directly modify a noun: a classifier (if not a measure word) is needed between a numeral (or a quantifier) and a noun to enable the operation of enumeration. The classifiers categorize the referents of nouns in terms of their inherent properties such as animacy and shape, as opposed to measure words, which denote quantities of an item. In other words, the terms ‘classifier’ and ‘measure word’ here refer to ‘sortal classifier’ and ‘mensural classifier’ respectively in studies such as Matthews and Yip (2011:109) and Aikhenvald (2000:114-115). Unlike measure words which can be compared with measure terms (or quantifiers) in non-classifier languages and thus are common in a majority of the languages of the world, classifiers do not have a direct equivalent in non-classifier languages, being mainly attested in South, East and South-East Asia, Oceania and the Americas (cf. Aikhenvald 2000; Kilarski 2013). Thus, this chapter focuses on classifiers in Hui’an and will be examined in terms of their syntactic distributions (§7.2), semantic properties (§7.3), referential functions (§7.4), and sources and extensions (§7.5).
7.2 Syntactic distributions 7.2.1 Numeral + classifier Classifiers in Hui’an usually appear together with a numeral, as in (1) and (2), and can act as a predicate. (1)
浴室 蜀 間 iɔk8-4siak7 tsit8-4 kuin1 bathroom one CL ‘one bathroom’
(2) 骹踏車 四 五 把 1 8-4 1 5-3 kha tah tshia si gɔ4 pe3 bike four five CL ‘(There are) four or five bikes.’
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-007
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The context of example (1) is that the speaker is introducing a house. The classifier kuin1 with the preceding numeral tsit8 ‘one’ functions as a predicate denoting the number of the subject iɔk8-4siak7 ‘bathroom’. In (2), the classifier pe3, preceded by two adjacent numbers (i.e. si5 ‘four’ and gɔ4 ‘five’), denotes an approximate number of the subject kha1tah8-4tshia1 ‘bike’. The [numeral + classifier] complex can also function as a subject or topic, as in (3), or as an object, as in (4). (3) 兩 垛 無 夠 lŋ4 tǝ5 bo2-4 kau5 two CL not.have enough ‘Two (chairs) are not enough.’ (4) 加 穿 蜀 領 ke1 tshiŋ5 tsit8-4 liã3 more wear one CL ‘Wear one more piece (of clothing).’ In (3), lŋ4 tǝ5 ‘two (chairs)’, consisting of the numeral lŋ4 ‘two’ and the classifier tǝ5, functions as a subject or topic. The noun i3 椅 ‘chair’, modified by lŋ4 tǝ5, is omitted. In (4), tsit8-4 liã3 ‘a piece (of clothing)’, consisting of the numeral tsit8 ‘one’ and the classifier liã3, functions as an object of the verb phrase ke1 tshiŋ5 ‘wear more’. When overtly expressed, the noun sã1 衫 ‘clothes’ associated with the modifying classifier phrase tsit8-4 liã3, but omitted in this particular extract from discourse, tends to occur before the verb phrase ke1 tshiŋ5 and thus functions as a topic. In the following example, the noun tshŋ2 床 ‘bed’, modified by the [numeral + classifier] complex lŋ4 tiũ1 兩張, is overtly expressed. (5) 買 兩 張 床 bue3-2 lŋ4 tiũ1 tshŋ2 buy two CL bed ‘(He) bought two beds.’ In (5), lŋ4 tiũ1tshŋ2 ‘two beds’ functions as an object of the verb bue3 ‘buy’. Note that the numeral tsit8 蜀 ‘one’ tends to be omitted, if it is used in the same postverbal context. In other words, bue3-2 tiũ1 tshŋ2 買張床 ‘(he) bought a bed’, rather than bue3-2 tsit8-4tiũ1 tshŋ2 買蜀張床, is more common in daily conversation.
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As shown by example (5) above, the [numeral + classifier] complex can directly modify a noun. In daily conversation, we also find some examples where e0 其 is inserted between the [numeral + classifier] complex and a noun such as aʔ7 鴨 ‘duck’ in (6). (6) 今日 蜀 日 刣 四 隻 其 鴨 aʔ7 kiã1let8 tsit8-4 let8 thai2 si5-3 tsiaʔ7 e0 today one day kill four CL FOC duck ‘(I) killed four ducks within one day today.’ The [numeral + classifier] complex si5-3 tsiaʔ7 四隻 ‘four’ normally occurs directly before the noun aʔ7 ‘duck’ to denote the number of ducks. In (6), the speaker aims to emphasize the number of ducks, since a family usually kills only one duck a day. The morpheme e0 其 in Hui’an is multifunctional, e.g. it can function as a modifying marker and a genitive marker. In (6), however, it can be interepreted as a focus marker, used to emphasize the number si5-3 tsiaʔ7 ‘four’. The [numeral + classifier] complex can be preceded by a personal pronoun such as gun3 阮 in (7) to express possession. (7) 阮 兩 隻 佫 未 刣 咧 gun3 lŋ4 tsiaʔ7 koʔ7-8 bǝ5-4 thai2 leʔ0 1PL two CL still not.yet kill SFP ‘Our two ducks have not yet been killed.’ When the classifier is the general classifier e2 個, the [numeral + classifier] complex with the preceding plural personal pronoun may form an appositive construction, as in (8). (8) 恁 兩 個 明日 著 來 len3 lŋ4 e2 biã2-4let8 tioʔ8-4 lai2 2PL two CL tomorrow should come a. ‘Your two (kids) should come here tomorrow.’ b. ‘You two should come here tomorrow.’ In (8), lŋ4 e2 ‘two’ with the preceding second-person plural pronoun len3 can denote possession, that is, meaning ‘your two (kids)’, or form an appositive construction meaning ‘you two’.
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The following two examples illustrate that the [numeral + classifier] complex can also follow the interrogative word to3 底 to express ‘which’, as in (9), or follow the nominal demonstratives tsit7 即 ‘this’/hit7 迄 ‘that’, as in (10). (9) 底 蜀 間 買 其 to3-2 tsit8-4 kuin1 bue3 e0 which one CL buy NMLZ ‘From which (store) did you buy (it)?’ (10) 迄兩領 薄 遘 hit7-8-lŋ4-liã3 poʔ8-4 a3 that-two-CL thin EVC ‘Those two pieces (of clothing) are very thin.’ Note that, when the numeral is tsit8 蜀 ‘one’, it may be omitted, in which case, the classifier directly follows the nominal demonstratives tsit7 ‘this’/hit7 ‘that’ (see §5.2.1 for details). The [numeral + classifier] complex can also be preceded by thau2 頭 ‘head, first’, as in (11), or by the prefix te5 第, as in (12). (11) 頭兩個 thau2-lŋ4-e2 head-two-CL ‘the first two (watches)’ (12) 第二垛 te5-4-li5-4-tǝ5 PREF-two-CL ‘the second (house)’ Example (11) means the first two (watches), while (12) expresses an ordinal number, that is, the second (house). Note that different numeral systems are used in (11) and (12). ‘two’ is encoded by lŋ4 in (11), which is the same form as that used in other classifier constructions, whereas it is encoded by li4 in (12) to express an ordinal number (see §6.2 for details of numerals).
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7.2.2 Quantifier + classifier Classifiers in Hui’an can appear together with some quantifiers, such as kui1 ‘whole’, tak8 ‘every’, kui3 ‘several’, and kui3-2loʔ8 ‘several, quite a few’. The [quantifier + classifier] complex can modify a noun such as hɯ2 魚 ‘fish’ in (13) and tshia1 車 ‘vehicle , car’ in (14). 尾 魚 (13) 規 kui1 bǝ3-2 hɯ2 whole CL fish ‘the whole fish’ (14) 逐 把 車 tak8-4 pe3-2 tshia1 every CL vehicle ‘every car’ Note that the quantifiers kui1 ‘whole’ and kui3-2loʔ8 ‘several, quite a few’ (especially kui3-2loʔ8) imply a great number, thus the focus marker e0 其 can be used to emphasize the number when they modify a noun, as shown by (15). (15) 我 共 伊 買 幾落 領 其 衫 咯 gua3 ka5-4 i1 bue3 kui3-2loʔ8-4 liã3 e0 sã1 lɔ0 1SG BEN 3SG buy quite.a few CL FOC clothes SFP ‘I have bought him quite a few pieces of clothing.’ In (15), the speaker not only describes a fact that she has bought him some items of clothing, but also emphasizes the number of clothes. In other words, due to the use of the focus marker e0 其, the subjective attitude of the speaker is also involved. The quantifier tak8 usually requires a classifier when modifying a common noun, as shown by example (14) above. The following example, however, shows that tak8 can occur directly before the noun laŋ2 儂 ‘person’. (16) 逐儂 都 著 檢查 8-4 2 1 8-4 tɔ tioʔ kiǝm3-2tsa1 tak -laŋ every-person all should examine ‘Everyone has to be checked.’
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The general classifier e2 can also be inserted between the quantifier tak8 and the noun laŋ2, that is, forming tak8-4 e2-4 laŋ2 逐個儂, which is more common than tak84 laŋ2 (without the classifier e2) in daily conversation. The latter may be a contracted form of tak8-4 e2-4 laŋ2, due to an omission of the classifier e2 個. In daily conversation, the [quantifier + classifier] complex is often used alone (without a noun) functioning as a subject as in (17), or as an object as in (18). (17) 逐垛 都 相同 tak8-4-tǝ5 tɔ1 sa1saŋ2 every-CL all same ‘Every (table) is the same.’ (18) 買 幾 粒 bue3 kui3-2 liǝp8 buy several CL ‘buy several (apples)’ As with the [numeral + classifier] complex, the quantifier kui3 with the following classifier can be preceded by a personal pronoun such as gun3 ‘we’ in (19), by the nominal demonstratives tsit7 ‘this’/hit7 ‘that’ as in (20), by the interrogative word to3 ‘which’, as in (21), or by thau2 ‘head, first’ as in (22). (19) 阮 幾 個 3 3-2 gun kui e2 1PL several CL ‘we, the few of us’ (20) 即 幾 垛 tsit7-8 kui3-2 tǝ5 this several CL ‘these few (tables)’ (21) 底 幾 領 to3-2 kui3-2 liã3 which several CL ‘Which pieces (of clothing)?’
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(22) 頭 幾 把 thau2 kui3-2 pe3 head several CL ‘the first few (cars)’
7.2.3 Demonstratives tsit7/hit7+ classifier Classifiers in Hui’an can also be preceded by the nominal demonstratives tsit7 ‘this’ and hit7 ‘that’, as in (23), where the classifier tǝ5 垛 directly follows the nominal demonstrative tsit7 即 ‘this’ and tsit7-8tǝ5 即垛 functions as a subject of the sentence. (23) 即垛 無 好 tsit7-8-tǝ5 bo2-4 ho3 this-CL not.have good ‘This (table) is not good.’ The [tsit7/hit7 + classifier] complex can also function as an object as in (24), where hit7-8liã3 迄領 ‘that piece’ is an object of the verb tshiŋ5 穿 ‘wear’. (24) 穿 迄領 tshiŋ5-4 hit7-8-liã3 wear that-CL ‘Wear that piece (of clothing).’ As illustrated by the following two examples, [tsit7/hit7 + classifier] can modify a noun such as kau3 狗 ‘dog’ in (25), or be modified as in (26) where hit7-8ki1 迄枝 ‘that’ is modified by the adjective sen1 新 ‘new’, which calls for the modifying marker e0 其. (25) 去 看 迄隻 khɯ5-3 khuã5-3 hit7-8-tsiaʔ7-8 go look that-CL ‘(We) went to see that dog.’
狗 kau3 dog
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(26) 新 其 迄枝 sen1 e0 hit7-8-ki1 new MOD that-CL ‘the new (mop)’ Note that the nominal demonstratives tsit7 ‘this’ and hit7 ‘that’ require a classifer since they are probably fused forms of demonstratives and the numeral for ‘one’ (see §5.2.1 for details).
7.2.4 Classifier + noun Classifiers in Hui’an can modify a noun without a numeral, quantifier or nominal demonstrative. This [classifier + noun] complex typically occurs in postverbal position in a transitive (S) VO clause and denotes indefiniteness, as in (27) and (28), where tsiaʔ7-8 aʔ7 隻鴨 ‘a duck’ and tǝ5-3 hɯ2 垛魚 ‘a piece of fish’ function as an object of the verbs bue3 買 ‘buy’ and tsiaʔ8 食 ‘eat’, respectively. This property of classifiers is extensively discussed in Wang (2013, 2015). (27) 買 隻 鴨 bue3-2 tsiaʔ7-8 aʔ7 buy CL duck ‘buy a duck’ (28) 食 垛 魚 tsiaʔ8-4 tǝ5-3 hɯ2 eat CL fish ‘eat a piece of fish’ When the classifier occurs after a verb and denotes, on the contrary, definiteness, we have a case of a different syntactic structure altogether: in this situation, the [classifier + noun] complex functions as a head noun of the relative clause in which the verb occurs, as in (29). (29) [Noun – Verb]RC [CL – Noun]SUBJECT – Predicate 恁 爸 掠 隻 鴨 加 珍 遘 len3-2 pa2 liaʔ8 tsiaʔ7-8 aʔ7 ke1 tin1 a3 2PL father catch CL duck more sweet EVC ‘The duck your father took (home) is more tasty (than this one).’
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In (29), tsiaʔ7-8 aʔ7 ‘the duck’ functions as a head noun, modified by the relative clause len3-2 pa2 liaʔ8 ‘your father took’. Note that the verb liaʔ8 is in its citation tone, that is, it does not undergo tone sandhi (see chapter 22 for details of relative clauses). Similarly, the [classifier + noun] complex can be used in genitive constructions, functioning as a possessee and denoting definiteness, as in (30), where pun3-2 tsheʔ7 本冊 ‘the book’ is preceded by the first-person singular pronoun gua3 我 to form a genitive construction. (30) 我 本 冊 咧 gua3 pun3-2 tsheʔ7 leʔ0 1SG CL book SFP ‘Where is my book?’ The [classifier + noun] complex can also follow a preposition such as the objectmarking preposition tsiɔŋ1 將 in (31) to denote indefiniteness. (31) 將 本 冊 共 伊 tsiɔŋ1 pun3-2 tsheʔ7 ka5-4 i1 OM CL book OM 3SG ‘(He) tore a book.’
拆 thiaʔ7-8 tear
破 去 phua5 khɯ0 broken PVC
Unlike some other Chinese varieties such as Yue and Wu (cf. Wang 2015), the [classifier + noun] complex in Hui’an normally cannot occur before a verb in a transitive SVO clause to function as a subject or topic.
7.2.5 Adjective + classifier Classifiers in Hui’an can be preceded by an adjective, especially the adjectives tua5 大 ‘big’ and sue5 細 ‘small’. The complex [adjective + classifier] can modify a noun such as hɯ2 魚 ‘fish’ in (32) and pan3-2tshai2 板材 ‘panel’ in (33). (32) 大尾 魚 tua5-4-bǝ3-2 hɯ2 big-CL fish ‘big fish’
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(33) 蜀 垛 大垛 其 板材 tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 tua5-4-tǝ5 e2-4 pan3-2tsai2 one CL big-CL MOD panel ‘one big panel’ In (32), the classifier bǝ3 is preceded by the adjective tua5 ‘big’ to form the complex tua5-4bǝ3 ‘big’, which modifies the noun hɯ2 ‘fish’. In (33), the classifier tǝ5 follows the adjective tua5 to form tua5-4tǝ5 ‘big’, which functions as a modifier of the noun pan3-2tshai2 ‘panel’. Note that the modifying marker e2 其 is inserted between the modifier tua5-4tǝ5 and the noun pan3-2tsai2 in (33), but not between tua5-4bǝ3 and hɯ2 in (32). In other words, the modifying marker e2 is not obligatory when [adjective + classifier] modifies a noun. When functioning as the modifier of a noun, the complex [adjective + classifier] can be further modified by a degree adverb such as ban2 蠻 ‘rather’ in (34). (34) 蜀 垛 蠻 大垛 其 肉 baʔ7 tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 ban2-4 tua5-4-tǝ5 e0 one CL rather big-CL MOD meat ‘quite a big piece of meat’ In (34), the adverb ban2 ‘rather’ modifies the complex tua5-4tǝ5, and ban2-4 tua5-4tǝ5 蠻大垛 ‘quite a big piece’ as a whole functions as a modifier of the noun baʔ7 ‘meat’. The complex [adjective + classifier] is also often used as a predicate. When functioning as a predicate, the [adjective + classifier] unit is often modified by a degree adverb such as tsue5 最 ‘most’ in (35), or by a negative adverb such as bue4 𣍐 ‘cannot’ in (36). (35) 迄叢 最 細枝 hit7-8-tsaŋ2 tsue5-3 sue5-3-ki1 that-CL most small-CL ‘That (mop) is the smallest.’ (36) 即間 𣍐 細間 tsit7-8-kuin1 bue4 sue5-3-kuin1 this-CL cannot small-CL ‘This (room) is not small.’
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In (35), the complex sue5-3ki1 is modified by the degree adverb tsue5 ‘most’, and tsue5-3 sue5-3ki1 treated as a whole functions as the predicate, preceded by the subject hit7-8tsaŋ2 ‘that (mop)’. In (36), the complex sue5-3kuin1 is modified by the negative adverb bue4 ‘cannot’, and bue4 sue5-3kuin1 similarly functions as a predicate. The examples above suggest that the [adjective + classifier] complex functions syntactically like an adjective: it not only directly modifies a noun, but also functions as a predicate. In other words, the complex [adjective + classifier] constitutes a compound adjective. Interestingly, we also find a few examples in which the complex [adjective + classifier] seems to function as the object of a verb, as in (37) below, where tua54 liã3 大領 ‘big (quilt)’ functions as an object of the verb bue3 買 ‘buy’. (37) 無 買 大領 bue3-2 tua5-4-liã3 bo2-4 not.have buy big-CL ‘(She) didn’t buy a big (quilt).’ Other adjectives that can be followed by a classifier are quite limited in number, and vary with their following classifiers and sometimes the nouns they modify. For example, the classifier kuin1 間 can co-occur with a series of adjectives such as tua5 ‘big’, sue5 ‘small’, tshiǝm1 深 ‘deep’, tshen3 淺 ‘shallow’, khuaʔ7 闊 ‘wide’, ueʔ8 狹 ‘narrow’, tŋ2 長 ‘long’ and tǝ3 短 ‘short’. Examples of kuaʔ7-8kuin1 ‘wide’ and ueʔ8-4kuin1 ‘narrow’ are given in (38). (38) 即間 房 恰 闊/狹間 khuaʔ7-8/ueʔ8-4-kuin1 tsit7-8-kuin1 paŋ2 khaʔ7-8 this-CL room comparatively wide/narrow-CL ‘This room is wider/narrower than (that one).’ In (38), the compound adjectives khuaʔ7-8kuin1 ‘wide’ and ueʔ8-4kuin1 ‘narrow’ are further modified by the comparative marker khaʔ7. Though the adjectives mentioned above can all be used with the classifier kuin1 to form compound adjectives, they are not commonly used in daily conversation, except for the compound adjectives involving tua5 ‘big’ and sue5 ‘small’ (i.e. tua5-4kuin1 and sue5-3kuin1). The compound adjectives kuaʔ7-8kuin1 ‘wide’ and ueʔ8-4kuin1 ‘narrow’ in (38) can be replaced by the monosyllabic adjectives kuaʔ7 and ueʔ8, respectively. In fact, the compound adjectives are in general less common than their corresponding monosyllabic adjectives, excepting, again, those involving tua5 ‘big’ and sue5 ‘small’. For example, the compound adjectives with
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tua5 and sue5 in examples (32) – (37) above cannot usually be substituted by the monosyllabic ones (i.e. tua5 and sue5). Although in some cases, tua5 and sue5 used alone may also be acceptable for some native speakers, the compound ones are undoubtedly more natural. Some further examples are discussed below. The classifier tiau2 條 can be preceded by a series of adjectives such as tua5 ‘big’, sue5 ‘small’, tŋ2 長 ‘long’, tǝ3 短 ‘short’, tshɔ1 粗 ‘thick’ and iu5 幼 ‘thin’ when they modify a noun such as soʔ7 索 ‘rope’ in (39). (39) 蜀 條 粗條 索 tsit8-4 tiau2-4 tshɔ1-tiau2-4 soʔ7 one CL thick-CL rope ‘a thick rope’ However, only the adjectives tua5 ‘big’and sue5 ‘small’ can be naturally followed by the classifier tiau2 條 when they modify a noun such as lɔ5 路 ‘road’ and kau1 溝 ‘ditch’. Examples are given in (40) and (41). (40) 蜀 條 大條 路 tsit8-4 tiau2-4 tua5-4-tiau2-4 lɔ5 one CL big-CL road ‘a big road’ (41) *蜀 條 粗條 路 8-4 2-4 1 2-4 tsit tiau tshɔ -tiau lɔ5 one CL thick-CL road ‘a thick road’ The compound adjectives consisting of an adjective and a classifier are also reported in some other Chinese varieties such as Taiwan Southern Min (cf. Liu 2010). Liu (2010) argues that the classifier in the compound adjective functions to provide a dimension (i.e. scale) along which the relevant property of the noun (phrase) is predicated or by which it is modified or measured, while the adjective in the compound adjective denotes an ordering function that orders the sets of points toward the upper or lower end of the scale denoted by the classifier (see Liu 2010 for more details).
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7.3 Semantic properties As with Mandarin Chinese, the Hui’an dialect has a general classifier, that is, e2 個, which can be used for person-denoting nouns such as ken3-2a3 囝仔 ‘child’ in (42). (42) 兩 個 囝仔 lŋ4 e2-4 ken3-2a3 two CL child ‘two children’ As shown by example (42), there is no specific classifier for human beings, which usually take the general classifier e2, whose lexical source is unclear, but may be associated with the modifying marker e2 其. This general classifier can also be used for nouns which can take a specific classifier, such as oʔ8-4tŋ2 學堂 ‘school’ in (43). (43) 蜀 間/個 學堂 tsit8-4 kuin1/e2-4 oʔ8-4tŋ2 one CL/CL school ‘a school’ The noun oʔ8-4tŋ2 is usually used with its specific classifier kuin1, but can also be used with the general classifier e2 個. In other words, the general classifier e2 can susbstitute for some specific classifiers. The general classifier e2 is also used for nouns which do not have a specific classifier, such as the abstract noun kǝ5-3thiŋ2 過程 ‘process’ in (44). (44) 蜀 個 過程 8-4 e2-4 kǝ5-3thiŋ2 tsit one CL process ‘a process’ As mentioned above, person-denoting nouns usually take the general classifier e2. However, there are two more classifiers for person-denoting nouns: kɔ1 孤 and ui5 位. The former one usually shows a derogatory sense, as in (45), whereas the latter is used to show respect for somebody (that is, used as a polite form for human beings), as in (46).
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(45) 迄孤 男其 hit7-8-kɔ1 lam2-e0 that-CL male-NMLZ ‘that guy’ (46) 蜀 位 領導 tsit8-4 ui5-4 liŋ3-2tɔ5 one CL leader ‘a leader/boss’ Animals are basically distinguished from human beings and inanimate objects. The general classifier for animals is tsiaʔ7 隻 < ‘a bird’, as in (47). (47) 蜀 隻 馬 tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7-8 be3 one CL horse ‘a horse’ This classifier can also be used for some inanimate objects such as vehicles, as in (48). Note that vehicles such as tshia1 車 ‘vehicle, car’ in (48) have their own specific classifier pe3 把, as illustrated by (49). (48) 蜀 隻 車 8-4 7-8 tsiaʔ tshia1 tsit one CL vehicle ‘a car’ (49) 蜀 把 車 tsit8-4 pe3-2 tshia1 one CL vehicle ‘a car’ In Quanzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou, the general classifier for animals (i.e. tsiaʔ 隻) is also used for vehicles (Zhou 2006). In Hui’an, however, tsiaʔ7 is also used with some home appliances such as tshai3-2ten5 彩電 ‘color TV’, piŋ1siu}1 冰箱 ‘fridge’, sue3-2sã1ki1 洗衫機 ‘washing machine’, and the noun ki2-4a3 棋仔 ‘chessman’. An example of sue3-2sã1ki1 ‘washing machine’ is given in (50) below. The reason why these inanimate objects use tsiaʔ7 as their classifiers may be that they can ‘move’, e.g. a washing machine rotates when it works.
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(50) 蜀 隻 洗衫機 tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7-8 sue3-2-sã1-ki1 one CL wash-clothes-machine ‘a washing machine’ There is a specific classifier bǝ3 尾 (derived from bǝ3 ‘tail’) for fish or reptiles such as tsua2 蛇 ‘snake’ and gia2-4kaŋ1 蜈蚣 ‘centipede’. An example of hɯ2 魚 ‘fish’ is given in (51). (51) 蜀 尾 魚 tsit8-4 bǝ3-2 hɯ2 one CL fish ‘a fish’ Inanimate objects usually have a specific classifier besides the general classifier e2. For example, the specific classifier tiau2 條 is mainly used for three-dimensional objects with a long shape such as kau1 溝 ‘ditch’, i3-2tiau2 椅條 ‘bench’, khɔ53 tua5 褲帶 ‘waistband’, len5-4a3 鏈仔 ‘necklace’, soʔ7 索 ‘rope’ and hun1 熏 ‘cigarette’. An example is given in (52). (52) 蜀 條 鏈仔 tsit8-4 tiau2-4 len5-4a3 one CL chain-NM ‘a necklace’ This classifier is also used for two-dimensional objects with a long shape such as lɔ5 路 ‘road’ in (53), or for one-dimensional objects with a long, thin shape such as hun2 痕 ‘scratch’ in (54), which forms when the skin is scraped by something. (53) 蜀 條 路 tsit8-4 tiau2-4 lɔ5 one CL road ‘a road’ (54) 蜀 條 痕 8-4 2-4 tsit tiau hun2 one CL scratch ‘a scratch’
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The following example illustrates that the classifier tiau2 can also function as a classifier for invisible and abstract entities such as sen1bun2 新聞 ‘news’ in (55). (55) 蜀 條 新聞 tsit8-4 tiau2-4 sen1bun2 one CL news ‘an item of news’ The classifier tsua5 < ‘line’ is also used for inanimate objects with a long shape. Unlike tiau2, however, the classifier tsua5 is mainly used with linear-form objects (that is, one-dimensional objects with a long shape) such as hun2 ‘scratch’ mentioned above and li5 字 ‘character’ which are written in a line, as in (56). (56) 蜀 口 字 tsit8-4 tsua5-4 li5 one CL character ‘a line of characters’ The classifier tsua5 can also be used for two-dimensional objects with a long profile such as lɔ5 路 ‘road’ in (57), or for three-dimensional objects with a long shape such as kau1 溝 ‘ditch’ in (58). (57) 蜀 口 8-4 tsua5-4 tsit one CL ‘a road’
路 lɔ5 road
(58) 蜀 口 溝 tsit8-4 tsua5-4 kau1 one CL ditch ‘a ditch’ However, tsua5 cannot be used for three-dimensional objects such as i3-2tiau2 椅條 ‘bench’, khɔ5-3tua5 褲帶 ‘waistband’ and len5-4a3 鏈仔 ‘necklace’ which take the classifier tiau2 條 as mentioned above. The classifier tiũ1 張 < ‘to draw a bow’ is mainly used for two-dimensional objects which have a flat surface, e.g. tsua3 紙 ‘paper’, phio5 票 ‘ticket’, siɔŋ5 相 ‘picture’ and phue1 批 ‘letter’. An example of tsua3 ‘paper’ is given in (59).
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(59) 蜀 張 紙 tsit8-4 tiũ1 tsua3 one CL Paper ‘a piece of paper’ The following example shows that tiũ1 is also used for three-dimensional objects which have a flat surface such as tshŋ2 床 ‘bed’. (60) 蜀 張 床 tsit8-4 tiũ1 tshŋ2 one CL Bed ‘a bed’ The classifier tǝ5 垛, originally a noun denoting a lump or chunk, is mainly used for three-dimensional objects with a lumpy shape such as o2 蠔 ‘oyster’, piã3 餅 ‘biscuit’ and thŋ2-4a3 糖仔 ‘candy’, but also extended to further three-dimensional objects with a chunky shaped component such as toʔ7 桌 ‘table’, tshŋ2 床 ‘bed’ and tshu5 厝 ‘house’. Two examples are given in (61) and (62). (61) 蜀 垛 tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 One CL ‘a candy’
糖仔 thŋ2-4-a3 sugar-NM
(62) 蜀 垛 tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 one CL ‘a table’
桌 toʔ7 table
The classifier tǝ5 is also the specific classifier for the abstract noun kua1 歌 ‘song’, as shown by (63). This may involve an extension of the use of tǝ5 from concrete objects with a lumpy/chunky shape to abstract things. (63) 蜀 垛 歌 tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 kua1 one CL song ‘a song’
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The classifier bɔ2 模, originally meaning ‘mould’, is a specific classifier for tau54 hu5 豆腐 ‘bean curd’, as in (64). (64) 蜀 模 豆腐 tsit8-4 bɔ2-4 tau5-4hu5 one CL bean.curd ‘a piece/cake/square of bean curd’ The bean curd is typically encountered in a chunk-like shape. The classifier bɔ2 also suggests that the bean curd has a fixed size which is determined by the mould with which the bean curd is made. The classifiers hut8 核 and liǝp8 粒 are both used for roundish objects regardless of size, e.g. ki5 痣 ‘mole’, phiŋ2-4kɔ3 蘋果 ‘apple’ and kiu2 球 ‘ball’. Two examples are given in (65) and (66). (65) 蜀 核 tsit8-4 hut8-4 one CL ‘an apple’
蘋果 phiŋ2-4kɔ3 apple
(66) 蜀 粒 球 tsit8-4 liǝp8-4 kiu2 one CL ball ‘a ball’ The classifier hut8, originally a noun meaning ‘core’, is typically used for objects with a core such as phiŋ2-4kɔ3 ‘apple’ in (65), and then extended to other roundish objects. The classifier liǝp8, originally a noun meaning ‘grain’, is fundamentally used as a classifier for grain-like objects such as ki5 ‘mole’, and then extended to objects such as phiŋ2-4kɔ3 ‘apple’ and kiu2 ‘ball’ in (66). A similar extension from small to large in size can also be attested for the classifier tǝ5 垛 mentioned above. The classifiers hut8 核 and liǝp8 粒 overlap with each other. However, hut8 was used more than liǝp8 in earlier times, while liǝp8 is used more than hut8 at present (according to older native speakers). The classifiers ki1 枝 < ‘branch of a plant’ and tsaŋ2 叢 < ‘assemble’ are both used for stick-like objects regardless of size: the object can be a small one like tsam1 針 ‘needle’, so3-2si2 鎖匙 ‘key’, pet7 筆 ‘pen’ and to1 刀 ‘knife’, or a large one like tshiŋ5 銃‘gun’, thua1pa2 拖把 ‘mop’ and sau5-3tshiu3 掃帚 ‘broom’. Two examples are given in (67) and (68).
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(67) 蜀 枝 針 tsit8-4 ki1 tsam1 one CL needle ‘a needle’ (68) 蜀 叢 tsit8-4 tsaŋ2-4 one CL ‘a gun’
銃 tshiŋ5 gun
Zhou (2006) mentions that in Quanzhou, Xiamen and Zhangzhou, not all nouns that can occur with ki1 枝 can be used with tsaŋ2 叢, and gives the example of hue1 花 ‘flower’. In Hui’an, however, hue1 can be used with both of these classifiers. The classifier khia1/kha1 奇, originally meaning ‘singular’ as in khia1sɔ5 奇數 ‘singular’, is used for one of a pair such as ue2 鞋 ‘shoe’ and tɯ5 箸 ‘chopstick’ which exist in pairs. An example is given in (69). (69) 蜀 奇 鞋 tsit8-4 khia1 ue2 one CL shoe ‘a shoe’ This classifier is also used for container-like objects with a hollow interior, e.g. tǝ5 袋 ‘sack’, siu}1 箱 ‘suitcase’ and piŋ1siu}1 冰箱 ‘fridge’, as in (70), and for annular objects with a hollow interior such as tshiu3-2tsi3 手指 ‘ring’ in (71). (70) 蜀 奇 袋仔 8-4 1 khia tǝ5-4-a3 tsit one CL sack-NM ‘a sack’ (71) 蜀 奇 手指 tsit8-4 khia1 tshiu3-2tsi3 one CL ring ‘a ring’ The classifier tso4 座 is always used for big and stable objects, e.g. suã1 山 ‘hill’, lau2 樓 ‘building’ and tshu5 厝 ‘house’. An example of suã1 ‘hill’ is given in (72).
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(72) 蜀 座 山 tsit8-4 tso4 suã1 one CL hill ‘a hill’ The classifier liã3 領 is mainly used for something which can cover people’s body, including clothes, quilts and blankets, but is also used for mats. An example is given in (73). (73) 蜀 領 羊毛衫 tsit8-4 liã3-2 iũ2-4bŋ2-4sã1 one CL sweater ‘a sweater’ The classifier kuin1 間 < ‘crack of the door’ is used for a room of a building or the whole building, e.g. paŋ2 房 ‘room’, iɔk8-4 siak7 浴室 ‘bathroom’, tshai5-3kuan3 菜館 ‘restaurant’, tshu5 厝 ‘house’ and oʔ8-4tŋ2 學堂 ‘school’. An example of paŋ2 ‘room’ is given in (74). (74) 蜀 間 房 tsit8-4 kuin1 paŋ2 one CL room ‘a room’ The classifier pun3 本 < ‘root of a plant’ is used for objects such as books, notebooks and account books, all of which are made of paper and used for reading or writing. An example is given in (75). (75) 蜀 本 冊 tsit8-4 pun3-2 tsheʔ7 one CL book ‘a book’ The classifier lui3 蕊 < ‘flower bud’ is mainly used for flowers, but also used for tshai5-3hue1 菜花 ‘cauliflower’ (which looks like a flower), and for bak8-4tsiu1 目珠 ‘eye’. An example of tshai5-3hue1 ‘cauliflower’ is given in (76).
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(76) 蜀 蕊 菜花 tsit8-4 lui3-2 tshai5-3hue1 one CL cauliflower ‘a cauliflower’ The classifier sin5 扇 < ‘door leaf’ is mainly used for objects such as doors, windows and walls, as in (77). (77) 蜀 扇 窗 tsit8-4 sin5-3 thaŋ1 one CL window ‘a window’ A summary of the major classifiers and the semantic domain of nouns classified is shown in Table 7-1. Tab. 7-1: Major classifiers and the semantic domain of nouns classified in the Hui’an dialect
Classifiers
Semantic domain of nouns classified
e2 個
general classifier
1
kɔ 孤
human beings (derogatory)
ui5 位
human beings (respect)
tsiaʔ7 隻
animals, some inanimate objects such as vehicles and home appliances
bǝ3 尾
fish and animals which are flexible, long and creeping
pe3 把
vehicles
2
tiau 條
mainly three-dimensional objects with a long shape but also one- and two-dimensional objects with a long shape
tsua5
mainly linear form objects but also two/three-dimensional objects with a long shape
tiũ1 張
two/three-dimensional objects which have a flat surface
tǝ5 垛
three-dimensional objects with a lumpy/chunky shape also kua1 ‘song’
bɔ2 模
tau5-4hu5 ‘bean curd’
8
8
hut 核/liǝp 粒 1
2
roundish objects regardless of size
ki 枝/tsaŋ 叢
stick-like objects regardless of size
khia1/kha1 奇
one of a pair container-like objects with a hollow interior
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Classifiers
Semantic domain of nouns classified annular objects with a hollow interior
4
tso 座
big and stable inanimate objects
liã3 領
coverings such as clothes, quilts, blankets and mats
kuin1 間
a room of a building or the whole building
pun3 本
inanimate objects which are made of paper and used for reading or writing
lui3 蕊
objects such as flowers, cauliflower and eyes
5
sin 扇
objects such as doors, windows and walls
7.4 Referential functions When occurring with a demonstrative, classifier constructions are mainly used for referring to something that exists in the speech context, as in (78), or something that is easy for both the speaker and hearer to recognize and understand, as in (79). (78) 即隻 小妹 其 老虎 tsit7-8-tsiaʔ7 sio3-2bǝ5 e2-4 lau3-2hɔ3 this-CL Y.sister GEN tiger ‘This is little sister’s tiger.’ (79) 按 新 其 迄枝 an5-3 sen1 e0 hit7-8-ki1 with new MOD that-CL ‘wash with the new (mop)’
洗 sue3 wash
The context of example (78) is that the family is cleaning up things in a room, and the elder sister finds a tiger toy and tells her parents that it is her little sister’s tiger. The complex tsit7-8tsiaʔ7 ‘this’ here refers to an entity that is present in the surrounding situation. In (79), the complex hit7-8ki1 ‘that’ refers to the mop that both the speaker and hearer can identify, though it is mentioned for the first time and does not exist in the surrounding situation. When functioning as the possessee of a genitive construction or as the head noun of a relative clause, the complex [classifier + noun] is typically used to refer to something that is not present in the surrounding situation but can be identified by both the speaker and the hearer, as in (80). That is, pragmatically, it has a recognitional use (see also recognitional use of demonstratives in §5.3).
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(80) 阮 垛 厝 呣免 拆 gun3 tǝ5-3 tshu5 m5-4ben3-2 thiaʔ7 1PL CL house no.need pull.down ‘Our house doesn’t need to be pulled down.’ In (80), the complex tǝ5-3 tshu5 ‘the1 house’ functions as a possessee of the genitive construction gun3 tǝ5-3 tshu5 ‘our house’, referring to the house that is easy for both the speaker and hearer to recognize. When used with a numeral or demonstrative, classifier constructions can also refer to something mentioned in the preceding context, as in (81) and (82). (81) A: 伊 請 別儂 做 i1 tshiã3-2 pat8-4-laŋ2 tsue5 3SG hire other-person do ‘He hired other people to do (it).’ B: 底 其 儂 to3-2 e2-4 laŋ2 where GEN person ‘Where does he come from?’ A: 山頭 其 儂 suã1thau2 e2-4 laŋ2 PN GEN person ‘(He) comes from Suã-thau (Shantou).’ A: 卜 知 , 直接 叫 即個 來 做 boʔ7-8 tsai1 tet8-4tsiǝp7 kio5-3 tsit7-8-e2-4 lai2-4 tsue5 want know directly call this-CL come do ‘If (we) had known (this situation), (we) would’ve contacted him directly for the job.’
|| 1 In this case, the complex tǝ5-3tshu5 (CL + N) has a definite reading and means ‘the house’.
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(82) A: 迄兩隻 鴨 㑑 其 口 hit7-8-lŋ4-tsiaʔ7-8 aʔ7 lan3 e2 siã0 that-two-CL duck 1PL GEN SFP ‘Are those two ducks ours?’ B: 蜀 隻 㑑 其, tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7-8 lan3 e2 one CL 1PL GEN 蜀 隻 𪜶 同事 其 tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7-8 en1 tɔŋ2-4sɯ5 e2 one CL 3PL colleague GEN ‘One (duck) is ours, and the other one belongs to his colleague.’ In (81), speaker A uses tsit7-8 e2 ‘this’ in the last turn to refer back to pat8-4 laŋ2 ‘another person’ in the first turn. In (82), speaker B uses tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7 ‘one’ to refer to one of two ducks speaker A is talking about. Classifiers can also be used alone to take on an anaphoric function, as in (83). Note, however, that this usage of classifiers is not common, and is not well-described as yet in the literature. (83) A: 今日 蜀 日 刣 四 隻 其 鴨 kiã1let8 tsit8-4 let8 thai2 si5-3 tsiaʔ7 e0 aʔ7 today one day kill four CL FOC duck ‘(I) killed four ducks within one day today.’ B: 刣 去 四 隻? thai2 khɯ5-3 si5-3 tsiaʔ7 kill RVC four CL 㑑 兩 隻 做做 汩 哦? 3 4 7 5-3 5 8 lan lŋ tsiaʔ tsue tsue khuʔ o0 1PL Two CL together cook SFP ‘(You) killed four (ducks)? Did we cook two of them (ducks) together?’ A: 做做 刣, 隻 搭 𪜶 凍 5-3 5 2 7-8 7-8 1 tsue tsue thai tsiaʔ taʔ en taŋ5 together kill CL entrust 3PL freeze ‘(I) killed (the ducks) together, and asked someone to freeze one (for us).’ In (83), speaker B uses lŋ4 tsiaʔ7 兩隻 to refer to two of the four ducks speaker A is talking about, while in the second turn, speaker A uses tsiaʔ7 隻 alone to refer to one of these two ducks speaker B is talking about in her second sentence. The phenomenon that the classifier is used alone may be the result of deletion of its
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preceding numeral ‘one’. Interestingly, a similar use of lone classifiers is also found in Nanning Cantonese and Northern Zhuang (Tai-Kadai) spoken in Guangxi for subject/topic and object positions (see de Sousa 2015). As de Sousa observes, Standard Mandarin, Standard Cantonese and Nanning Pinghua only allow this use in postverbal position.
7.5 Sources and extensions There are basically two sources of classifiers: nouns and verbs. Classifiers derived from nouns may represent a part-whole relation: that is, the classifier may refer to just a part of the object it classifies. Examples include the classifiers pun3 本, lui3 蕊, sin5 扇, liã3 領, bǝ3 尾 and ki1 枝, as explained next: – Pun3 本 is originally a noun meaning the root of a plant, and then is used as a classifier for plants. After that, pun3 is extended to bound and printed items such as books and notebooks.2 – Lui3 蕊 originally refers to a flower bud, and then is used as a classifier for flowers. As explained above, in Hui’an, lui3 is extended to something which looks like a flower, e.g. tshai5-3hue1 菜花 ‘cauliflower’ and bak8-4tsiu1 目珠 ‘eye’. – Sin5 扇, a noun meaning a door leaf, is used as a classifier for doors, and then extended to windows, which is similar to the door since both of them can be opened or closed. In Hui’an, this classifier is also used for walls. This may be because door, window and wall are all parts of a room, all possessing a flat surface which is located in a vertical plane. – Liã3 領 originally means the neck of a person, which then refers to the part of clothes close to the neck of a person. From here, liã3 extends its use as a classifier for clothes: firstly only for upper, outer garments which have a collar, then for different kinds of clothes. In Hui’an, liã3 can also be used for objects such as tshioʔ8 席 ‘mat’, phǝ4 被 ‘quilt’, than3-2a3 毯仔 ‘blanket’ and baŋ3 網 ‘net’, all of which can be spread out to cover a surface. – Bǝ3 尾, a noun meaning ‘tail’, is used as a classifier for fish, and then extended to animals which are long and flexible in shape and which move by slithering or creeping. || 2 The classifiers we discussed in this section may show a different picture for semantic extensions or show more extensions when treated in terms of the history of Chinese. We only focus on those that are associated with classifiers in the Hui’an dialect. In addition, our discussion is based on previous studies on the historical development of classifiers in the history of Chinese, e.g. Wang (1984b), Wang (1992), Jiang and Cao (1997), Wei (2000), Hong (2004), Li (2004), Sun (2005), Ye (2005) and Zhang (2012).
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Ki1 枝, originally meaning a branch of a plant or tree, is used as a classifier for plants which have branches. The classifier ki1 is further extended to items of a stick-like shape, such as pens.
A noun may also serve as its own classifier. Examples include tsiaʔ7 隻 and liǝp8 粒: – Tsiaʔ7 隻, originally a noun meaning a bird, later comes to be used as a classifier for birds. From here, tsiaʔ7 is extended to inanimate objects such as vehicles and home appliances. – Liǝp8 粒, originally a noun meaning ‘grain’, is used as a classifier of grains, and then extended to small and roundish objects. In Hui’an, this classifier is further extended to roundish objects regardless of size. All the examples above show a grammaticalization path from noun to classifier, undergoing both category change and semantic generalization. The following two examples represent another grammaticalization path, that is, from verb to classifier: – Tiũ1 張, originally a verb meaning ‘to draw a bow’, came to be used as a classifier for bows. From here, it generalized in meaning to be used as a classifier for objects with a flat extension of one of their surfaces. – Tsaŋ2 叢, originally a verb meaning ‘assemble’, becomes a classifier for plants which grow up together, such as bushes, and then for single plants. In Hui’an, this classifier is further extended to items of a stick-like shape.
7.6 Summary In this chapter, classifiers, which categorize the referents of nouns in terms of their inherent properties such as animacy and shape, have been examined in terms of their syntactic distributions, semantic properties, referential functions, sources and extensions. Classifiers are usually preceded by a numeral, quantifier or by the nominal demonstratives tsit7 and hit7, but can also modify a noun without any of these in certain, specific constructions. Classifiers can also be used with an adjective such as tua5 大 ‘big’ and sue5 細 ‘small’ to form compound adjectives. Semantic domains of nouns classified by major classifiers and their referential functions have also been examined. Finally, we discussed the sources of classifiers and showed that they involve both nouns and verbs.
8 Possessive constructions 8.1 Introduction According to previous studies on the linguistic notion of possession such as Taylor (1989a, b), Heine (1997) and Stassen (2009), the ‘prototypical’ or ‘canonical’ case of possession is alienable possession, which is characterized by the presence of two entities (the possessor and the possessee) such that the possessor and the possessee are in some relatively enduring locational relation, and the possessor exerts control over the possessee (and is therefore typically human) (Stassen 2009:15), as in (1). (1)
I have a bicycle.
In (1), the possessor, I, exerts control over the possessee, a bicycle. For example, other people cannot use the bicycle unless it is permitted by the possessor, I, whose rights over the possessee, bicycle, may be transferred to other people via an act of selling or lending. In addition, the possessive relation in this case is relatively time-stable, rather than temporary. Besides alienable possession, the concept of possession in the literature on possession also usually involves another two categories, that is, inalienable possession and temporary or physical possession (Stassen 2009:16). Taylor (1989a, b) and Heine (1997) further distinguish a fourth category, that is, abstract possession. These four categories of possession can be distinguished from each other in terms of the following two parameters: permanent contact and control, as shown in (i). (i) Possessive subtype Permanent contact Control Alienable + + Inalienable + Temporary + Abstract (Stassen 2009:17) Examples of inalienable, temporary and abstract possession are given in (2) – (4) below, reproduced from Stassen (2009:18-19). (2) Long John Silver had only one eye. (Inalienable possession) (3) Look out! That guy has a knife. (Temporary/physical possession) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-008
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(4) Listen! I have a great idea! (Abstract possession) In the case of inalienable possession, the possessor such as Long John Silver in example (2) does not exert any control over the possessee, one eye. This example involves body parts and illustrates one of the prototypical cases of inalienable possession. Languages may differ as to the semantic scope of inalienable possession. Cross-linguistically, however, besides terms for body parts, kinship terms, spatial orientation (locatives), part-whole relations and social relations such as ‘friend’ and ‘colleague’ may also be grouped among cases of inalienable possession. Nonetheless, body parts and kinship terms are typically considered to form the core of inalienable possession (cf. Chappell and McGregor 1989:26-27; Stassen 2009:18). Examples like (3) are usually associated with a fight or robbery. In this case, the possessor that guy exerts control over the possessee, a knife, at a certain point in time, while whether he owns the knife or not is not important. In other words, the relation between the possessor (that guy) and the possessee (a knife) is temporary, rather than relatively time-stable (cf. Stassen 2009:19). In example (4), the possessee a great idea is an abstract concept, and thus the possession involved is labeled ‘abstract possession’. As mentioned above, these four categories of possession may involve different semantic subtypes in individual languages. In general, the major semantic subtypes which languages may or may not morphologically or syntactically distinguish include ownership, body parts, kinship terms, part-whole relations, spatial orientation, social relations and abstract possession. Chinese usually does not show a one-to-one relationship between these four categories of possession (and their semantic subtypes) and possessive constructions (syntactic structures). In fact, a certain syntactic structure usually expresses different types of possession. For example, the possessive construction with the genitive marker de 的 in Mandarin Chinese can express ownership, as in (5), possession of the body part, as in (6), or other types of possession such as abstract possession, as in (7) (see also Chappell and Thompson 1992). (5) 我 的 車 (ownership) wŏ de Chē 1SG GEN Car ‘my car’
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(6) 我 的 頭 (body part) wŏ de tóu 1SG GEN head ‘my head’ (7) 我 的 想法 (abstract possession) wŏ de xiǎngfǎ 1SG GEN idea ‘my idea’ When the possessee is a kin term, location noun or a term for spatial orientation, the zero-marked possessive construction (without the genitive marker de), as in (8) below, tends to be used in Mandarin Chinese (Chappell and Thompson 1992). (8) 我 大哥 (kinship term) wŏ dà-gē 1SG big-brother ‘my older brother’ (cf. Chappell and Thompson 1992:203) The encoding of possession in a language typically take two forms: attributive possession (or adnominal possession) and predicative possession, of which the former refers to constructions in which the possessee and possessor form a noun phrase as in the English sentence Mary’s house and examples (5) – (8) above from Mandarin Chinese, while the latter refers to structures in which the relation of possession between possessor and possessee is the main assertion of the sentence, as illustrated by examples (1) – (4) from English (cf. Heine 1997, Stassen 2009:26, McGregor 2009:2). However, previous studies such as Payne and Barshi (1999) mention another type of possessive construction, that is, the external possessive construction, in which ‘a semantic possessor-possessum relation is expressed by coding the possessor (PR) as a core grammatical relation of the verb and in a constituent separate from that which contains the posessum (PM)’ (Payne and Barshi 1999:3), as in (9), an example from IlKeekonyokie dialect of Maasai, reproduced from Payne & Barshi (1999:4). (9) áa-yshú en-titó 3>1-be.alive FEM.SG-girl.NOM ‘My girl is alive (with presumably positive effect on me).’ Subject = Possessed Patient & source of impact on possessor; Object = Affected Possessor.
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In traditional Chinese linguistics, the attributive possessive construction is typically examined under studies on jiégòu zhùcí 結構助詞 [structural particles or structural auxiliary words] and/or piānzhèng jiégòu 偏正結構 [modifier-modified constructions], while the predicative possessive structure is examined under dòngcí 動詞 [verbs] and/or shùbīn jiégòu 述賓結構 [predicative structures with object complements]. In addition, people tend to associate the term lĭngshŭ jiégòu 領屬結構 [possessive construction] solely with the attributive possessive construction, but do not include the predicative possessive construction or the external possessive construction. However, a certain number of systematic works on possessive constructions in Chinese, especially Mandarin Chinese, can be found during the past three decades. For example, Chappell and Thompson (1992) examine the factors influencing the choice of the Mandarin genitive marker de 的, while Chappell (1996, 1999) focuses on double subject constructions and double unaccusative constructions, respectively, both of which are regarded as external possessor constructions. See also Teng (1974), Modini (1981) and Shen (1987) inter alia which also treat double subject constructions. Following the semantic and syntactic subtypes of possession mentioned above, this chapter examines both the attributive and predicative possessive constructions in Hui’an, but not the external possessive construction (qv. Chappell 1999 on this construction in seven Chinese varieties).
8.2 Attributive possessive constructions As shown in (ii) below, the attributive possessive construction in Hui’an falls into four types in terms of whether or not there exists a linking morpheme between the possessor and the possessee, and if yes, the form of the linking morpheme. (ii) Four types of attributive possessive construction in the Hui’an dialect a. Possessor + ∅ + possessee i.e. zero-marked possessive construction b. Possessor + demonstrative (+ numeral + classifier) + possessee i.e. possessive construction with a demonstrative or demonstrative phrase c. Possessor + classifier + possessee i.e. possessive construction marked by a classifier d. Possessor + e2 其 + possessee i.e. possessive construction with the genitive marker e2 其
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These types of attributive possessive construction can also be found to varying extents in other Chinese varieties. In addition, all four types can be simultaneously attested in certain other Chinese varieties, such as in Yue (cf. Matthews & Yip 2011:128). It is clear that the possessee (=the head) in the attributive possessive construction in Hui’an invariably follows the possessor (=the dependent/modifier), as is the case in Mandarin Chinese and other Chinese dialects. This is, however, not compatible with Greenberg’s Universal 2 as shown in (iii). (iii) In languages with prepositions, the genitive almost always follows the governing noun, while in languages with postpositions it almost always precedes. It is well known that Chinese is usually regarded as a language with a majority of prepositions, while, as mentioned above, the possessor (the genitive) in Chinese tends to precede the possessee (the governing noun). This is one of several instances of disharmony in word order correlations for the syntactic typology of Chinese (see Chappell, Li and Peyraube 2007; Djamouri, Paul and Whitman 2013).
8.2.1 The zero-marked possessive construction: possessor + ∅ + possessee 8.2.1.1 Pronoun possessor + ∅ + possessee In the zero-marked possessive construction in Hui’an, the possessor is usually expressed by a pronoun, or sometimes by a noun. In this section, we focus on the zero-marked possessive construction with a pronoun possessor, which is the most common possessive construction in daily conversation of the Hui’an dialect. Generally speaking, the pronoun possessor, especially the plural form, directly precedes the possessee when the possessee is encoded by kinship terms, social relations, location or spatial orientation terms. In addition, the plural form often has a singular meaning, as also described in §4.2.2 above. However, the genitive marker e2 其 tends to be used when the possessee is encoded by a body part or a common noun, and, in this case, the plural form of the personal pronoun will tend to express a plural meaning (see §8.2.4.1). 8.2.1.1.1 Possessee=kinship terms In this first structural type, the personal pronoun is usually a plural one such as gun3 ‘we’ and len3 ‘you’, but typically expresses a singular meaning, as in (10) and (11).
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(10) 𪜶 小妹 en1 sio3-2bǝ5 3PL Y.sister ‘her/their younger sister’ (11) 阮 媽仔 gun3-2 bã2-a0 1PL mother-NM ‘my/our mother’ In (10), the possessor is encoded by the third person plural pronoun en1, which preferentially expresses a singular meaning when followed by a kinship term such as sio3-2bǝ5 (see chapter 4 on pronouns). In other words, the possessive structure en1 sio3-2bǝ5 usually means ‘her younger sister’, rather than ‘their younger sister’, though the latter interpretation is also acceptable. A plural demonstrative such as tsuai2 ‘these’ and huai2 ‘those’ and the genitive marker e2 其 are usually inserted between the possessor en1 and the possessee sio3-2bǝ5, when the speaker aims to clearly express ‘their younger sister’ rather than ‘her younger sister’, that is, en1 tsuai2/huai2 e2-4 sio3-2bǝ5 (lit. 3PL these/those GEN younger sister). Similarly, the possessive structure gun3-2 bã2a0 in (11) usually means ‘my mother’, rather than ‘our mother’. When the speaker’s sibling(s) is/are present during such a conversation, gun3-2 bã2a0 may mean ‘our mother’. In other words, in this case, the plural pronoun gun3 expresses a plural meaning. It should be mentioned that, unlike Mandarin Chinese, in the Hui’an dialect, no possessive structure can directly express distributive notions such as ‘their younger sisters’ and ‘our mothers’, in which more than one family are involved. A comparison between Mandarin Chinese and the Hui’an dialect is given in (12) and (13). (12) Mandarin Chinese 我們 的 媽媽們 都 會 來 wŏmen de māma-men dōu huì lái 1PL GEN mother-PL all will come ‘Our mothers will all come here.’
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(13) The Hui’an dialect 阮 媽仔 卜 來, gun3-2 bã2-a0 boʔ7-8 lai2 1PL mother-NM want come 𪜶 媽仔 也 卜 來 en1 bã2-a0 a4 boʔ7-8 lai2 3PL mother-NM also want come ‘My mother will come here, his mother will also come here.’= ‘our mothers will all come here.’ In (12), men is a plural suffix attached to the noun māma ‘mother’ to form a plural form expressing ‘mothers’, and the possessive structure wŏmen de māmamen ‘our mothers’ involves different mothers. In Hui’an, there is no plual suffix like men in Mandarin Chinese. To express ‘our mothers’, more than one possessive structure has to be used: as in example (13), different possessive structures are adopted to express ‘my mother’ and ‘his mother’, which allows the whole sentence to thus express the meaning of ‘our mothers’. In daily conversation for the Hui’an dialect, the inclusive first person plural pronoun lan3㑑 usually does not function as a possessor. The main reason is that the possessor is not required to be overt when the hearer belongs to the same kinship circle. As in (14), the kinship term a1kɔŋ1 阿公 ‘grandfather’ is used alone without a possessor. (14) 阿公 食 了 咯 a1kɔŋ1 tsiaʔ8-4 liau3 lɔ0 grandfather eat finish SFP ‘Grandfather has finished his (meal). In addition, a person’s name or nickname, rather than a kinship term, is used when the speaker addresses or refers to someone from the same/younger generation in the same kinship circle. An example is given in (15), where a1sã1 阿三 ‘AhSan’ is the nickname of the speaker’s daughter. (15) 阿三 去 學堂 a1sã1 khɯ5-3 oʔ8-4tŋ2 PN go School ‘Ah-San went to school.’
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Two examples of lan3 as a possessor followed by a kinship term are given in (16) and (17). (16) 㑑 阿公 早 是 教冊 其 lan3 a1kɔŋ1 tsa3 si4 ka5-3 tsheʔ7 e0 1PL grandfather before be teach SFP ‘Our/your grandfather was a teacher.’ (17) 㑑 新婦 合 儂 無 同 lan3 siǝm1pu4 kaʔ7-8 laŋ4 bo2-4 saŋ2 1PL daughter-in-law COM other not.have same ‘Our/my daughter-in-law is different from other people.’ In daily conversation, the inclusive first person plural pronoun lan3 may refer to just the hearer, or function like the exclusive first person plural pronoun gun3 阮. For example, lan3 a1kɔŋ1 in (16) may refer to the grandfather of both the speaker and the hearer (i.e. meaning ‘our grandfather’), or refer to the grandfather of the hearer (i.e. meaning ‘your grandfather’). The possessive structure lan3 siǝm1pu4 in (17) may refer to the daughter-in-law of both the speaker and the hearer (i.e. meaning ‘our daughter-in-law’), or refer to the daughter-in-law of the speaker (i.e. meaning ‘my daughter-in-law’). The different interpretations are associated with the multiple functions of the inclusive pronoun lan3 (see §4.2.2). 8.2.1.1.2 Possessee=social relations or location In these two cases, the pronoun functioning as the possessor is also usually a plural one, and usually expresses a singular meaning. Three examples are given in (18) – (20). (18) 恁 老師 len3-2 lau4sɯ1 2PL teacher ‘your teacher’ (19) 恁 學堂 len3 oʔ8-4tŋ2 2PL School ‘your school’
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(20) 阮 厝裡 gun3 tshu5-3-lai4 1PL house-inside ‘my home’ The possessee lau4sɯ1 ‘teacher’ in (18) is associated with social relations, while the possessee in (19) and (20), i.e. oʔ8-4tŋ2 ‘school’ and tshu5-3lai4 ‘home’, are examples of location. More specifically, the possessee oʔ8-4tŋ2 ‘school’ in (19) is an example of the collective, unit or organization that someone belongs to. These examples share their special usage of the plural pronoun with examples (10) and (11) above, where the possessee is encoded by a kinship term, which will not be repeated here. Nevertheless, we may distinguish the two following subtypes of the zero-marked possessive construction, based on both the semantic category of the possessee, NP2, and the tone value of the possessor, NP1. Comparatively speaking, the relation between the possessor and the possessee is closer in zero-marked possessive constructions which denote kinship and social relations as opposed to those which denote location, including denoting collectives, units or organizations to which the ‘possessor’, NP1, belongs. This is clear when the tones of the pronoun possessor involved are compared. On the one hand, the pronoun possessor in the possessive construction denoting kinship and social relations is typically in its sandhi tone, as in gun3 阮 in (11) and len3 恁 in (18) respectively, which both change from third to the second tone. The only exception is the inclusive plural pronoun lan3㑑, which may be treated as a special case, since, as mentioned above, the usage of lan3 itself is quite complicated. On the other hand, the pronoun possessor in the zero-marked possessive construction denoting a location as the head noun typically does not undergo any tone sandhi, as in len3 恁 in (19) and gun3 阮 in (20), which are in their citation tone (i.e. the third tone), rather than in their sandhi tone (i.e. the second tone). 8.2.1.1.3 Possessee=spatial orientation The personal pronoun can be directly followed by a spatial orientation term, as in (21) and (22). (21) 汝 頭前 lɯ3 thau2-4tsuin2 2SG front ‘in front of you’
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(22) 阮 後尾 gun3 au4bǝ3 1PL back ‘behind us’ As with possessive constructions denoting location, the possessor in this subtype of zero-marked possessive construction, such as lɯ3 ‘you’ in (21) and gun3 ‘we’ in (22), normally retains its citation tone, rather than undergoing any tone sandhi. However, compared with possessive constructions denoting location, this subtype is uncommon in daily conversation. Furthermore, examples such as (21) and (22) can be interpreted in another way: the personal pronoun and the spatial orientation term function as the subject and the predicate, respectively. More specifically, lɯ3 thau2-4tsuin2 in (21) has a meaning of ‘you go first, after you’, while gun3 au4bǝ3 in (22) can express ‘we will follow’. 8.2.1.1.4 Possessee=body parts The personal pronoun as a possessor usually cannot directly precede the possessee encoded by a body part, unless the whole possessive construction is used in a sentence or clause, especially in a postverbal position. Further morphological and semantic constraints are that the possessee, NP2, is typically encoded by a disyllabic noun, while second and third person plural pronoun possessors usually only expresses a plural meaning. This contrasts distinctly from the case for kinship terms as the possessee, discussed just above. Examples are given in (23) – (25). (23) 是 阮 腹肚, 呣 是 汝 腹肚 si4 gun3 pak7-8tɔ3 m5-4 si4 lɯ3 pak7-8tɔ3 be 1PL belly not be 2SG belly ‘It is my belly, not your belly.’ (24) 拍 伊 頭殼 phaʔ7-8 i1 thau2-4khak7 hit 3SG head ‘hit his head’ (25) *呣嗵 動 阮/我 手 5-4 1 4 3 3 m -thaŋ taŋ gun /gua tshiu3 not-can touch 1PL/1SG hand ‘Don’t touch my hand.’
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In (23), the possesessive construction gun3 pak7-8tɔ3 means ‘my belly’, in which the exclusive first person plural pronoun gun3 expresses a singular meaning. However, the second person singular pronoun lɯ3, rather than the plural form len3, is required when expressing ‘your belly’ in its singular meaning. The two possessive constructions gun3 pak7-8tɔ3 ‘my belly’ and lɯ3 pak7-8tɔ3 ‘your belly’ are both used in a clause and involve contrastive focus. The genitive marker e2 其 can be added after the possessor (i.e. gun3 and lɯ3) to emphasize the possessor. However, when used alone (rather than in a clause as in (23)), neither gun3 pak7-8tɔ3 ‘my belly’ nor lɯ3 pak7-8tɔ3 ‘your belly’ are acceptable. In this case, the genitive marker e2 其 is required (rather than being optional) to be inserted between the possessor and the possessee, that is, forming gun3 e2-4 pak7-8tɔ3 ‘my belly’ and lɯ3 e2-4 pak7-8tɔ3 ‘your belly’, respectively. Example (23) also shows that the possessor in this subtype of zero-marked possessive construction normally does not undergo tone sandhi. In (24), the possessive construction i1 thau2-4khak7 with the third person singular pronoun i1 as the possessor, functions as an object of the verb phaʔ7 ‘hit’. The singular meaning of the possessor here cannot be expressed by the plural form en1 ‘they’. Note that both pak7-8tɔ3 ‘belly’ in (23) and thau2-4khak7 ‘head’ in (24) are disyllabic, while tshiu3 ‘hand’ in (25) is monosyllabic, which is probably the reason why it cannot immediately follow a personal pronoun such as gun3 ‘we’ in sentences such as (25). It would be more natural if the genitive marker e2 其 were added, i.e. gun3/gua3 e2-4 tshiu3 ‘my hand’. These syntactic and morphological constraints and the absence of tone sandhi may suggest that the relation between the possessor and the possessee in this type of possessive construction is, relatively speaking, not close, compared with that in possessive constructions denoting kinship, social relations, location and spatial orientation mentioned above (especially the former two). It should be mentioned, however, that, the ‘relation’ here typically involves the structural relationship between the possessor and the possessee, rather than their semantic relation. In fact, in some languages, the relationship between human beings and their body parts may be much coded as being closer than that between human beings and the kinship system, social relations, location and spatial orientation with which they are associated. However, the different structural and prosodic characteristics attested in different types of possessive construction may reflect the cognition of the speakers of the Hui’an dialect concerning alienability. In the continuum of inalienability, the speakers of the Hui’an dialect may tend to place the kinship and social relations toward the end where inalienable possession is located, location and spatial orientation in the middle, and body parts at a relative distance from the end for inalienable possession, shown as follows.
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Inalienable -------------------------------------------------------------- Alienable kinship/social relations > location > spatial orientation > body parts Fig.8-1: Inalienability Hierarchy I
This is interesting, since cross-linguistically, body parts tend to be treated as one of the core members of inalienable possession, as mentioned above. This apparently atypical treatment may undoubtedly be associated with the different cultural views reflected in the relevant structures of different languages (see Ameka 1996 on Ewe (Niger-Congo), Haiman 1985 on Menya (Papuan), Chappell and Thompson 1992 on Mandarin Chinese for other cases of alienable treatment of body part terms). 8.2.1.1.5 Possessee=common nouns The possessive construction denotes ownership when the possessee is encoded by other common nouns such as bak8-4kiã5 目鏡 ‘glasses’ in (26) and tshiu3-2tho5 手 套 ‘glove’ in (27). Similar to the subtype of the zero-marked possessive construction denoting body parts, in the possessive construction denoting ownership, the personal pronoun as a possessor can only sometimes be directly followed by the possessee. This is when the whole possessive construction is used in a clause, as in (26) and (27). (26) 汝 目鏡 咧 lɯ3 bak8-4kiã5 leʔ0 2SG glasses SFP ‘Where are your glasses?’ (27) 將 我 手套 收 咧 tsiɔŋ1 gua3 tshiu3-2tho5 siu1 leʔ7-8 OM 1SG glove tidy.up at ‘(He) put my glove in the drawer.’
屜咧 thuaʔ7-leʔ0 drawer-LOC
In (26) and (27), the possessive constructions lɯ3 bak8-4kiã5 ‘your glasses’ and gua3 tshiu3-2tho5 ‘my glove’ denote ownership. In (26), the construction lɯ3 bak8-4kiã5 ‘your glasses’ is followed by the sentence-final particle leʔ0 to form an interrogative, while gua3 tshiu3-2tho5 ‘my glove’ in (27) is placed between the object marker tsiɔŋ1 and the predicate siu1 leʔ7-8 thuaʔ7leʔ0 ‘put in the drawer’. A linking morpheme such as the genitive marker e2 is normally required when these two possessive constructions are used alone (rather than in a sentence or clause), as in
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lɯ3 e2-4 bak8-4kiã5 ‘your glasses’ and gua3 e2-4 tshiu3-2tho5 ‘my glove’. A similar phenomenon can also be attested in other Chinese varieties such as Mandarin Chinese (cf. Zhu 1982:142-143). 8.2.1.1.6 Interim summary In terms of the zero-marked possessive construction, when the possessee NP2 encodes kinship, social relations and location, the plural form of the personal pronoun is typically used for the possessor NP1 and can express a singular meaning. The singular forms of the personal pronouns combined with terms of spatial orientation and body parts or common nouns can also function as a possessor and possessee, respectively, in the zero-marked possessive construction, but evince a low frequency in daily conversation. In terms of semantics, the zero-marked possessive construction with a pronoun possessor, that is, [pronoun possessor + possessee], is thus preferentially used to denote kinship, social relations and location with which the possessor pronoun, NP1, is associated. As we have seen, this type of possessive construction can also denote spatial orientation, body parts and ownership, but is quite limited, and does not constitute one of its main semantic functions. The inalienability hierarchy mentioned above can be further revised as follows. Inalienable --------------------------------------------------------------- Alienable kinship/social relations > location > spatial orientation > body parts > ownership Fig.8-2: Inalienability Hierarchy II
In addition, the zero-marked possessive construction normally expresses definite or referential possession, that is, the speaker believes that the hearer is clear about the specific person or object that the speaker refers to. However, note also that in the case of the possessive construction denoting social relations, it may not be used to identify a specific individual, as in example (18) above. 8.2.1.2 Noun possessor + ∅ + possessee The possessor in the zero-marked possessive construction can be, albeit less frequently, encoded by a noun. When the possessor is encoded by a noun denoting a human being, the whole possessive construction is normally acceptable only when used in a clause, as in (28), an example of a possessive construction in which the possessee is expressed by a common noun.
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(28) 將 囝仔 衫褲 共 伊 收 (起來) tsiɔŋ1 ken3-2a3 sa͂ 1khɔ5 ka5-4 i1 siu1 khai0 OM child clothes OM 3SG tidy.up RVC ‘Gather up the clothes of the children.’ In (28), the object marker tsiɔŋ1 is followed by the possessive construction ken3-2a3 sa͂ 1khɔ5 ‘the clothes of the children’, in which the possessor ken3-2a3 is a noun denoting a human being. When used alone (rather than in a sentence or clause), the genitive marker e2 其 is normally required to be inserted between the possessor ken3-2a3 and the possesssee sa͂ 1khɔ5, i.e. ken3-2a3 e2-4 sa͂ 1khɔ5 ‘the clothes of the children’. This is also true for possessive constructions in which the possessee is encoded by a body part, as in tiu͂ 1biŋ2 e2-4 kha1 張明其骹 ‘Zhang Ming’s foot’. When the possessee is encoded by a noun denoting kinship, social relations or location, the third person plural pronoun en1 ‘they’, rather than the genitive marker e2 其, is the preferred form for insertion between the possessor and the possessee to form an independent possessive construction, e.g. tiu͂ 1biŋ2 en1 bã2a0/piŋ2-4iu3/oʔ8-4tŋ2 張 明 � 媽 仔 / 朋 友 / 學 堂 ‘Zhang Ming’s mother/friend/school’ (lit. Zhang Ming 3PL mother/friend/school). These examples can also be interpreted as being formed by the possessive construction [personal pronoun + noun] following the noun denoting a human being, e.g. tiu͂ 1biŋ2 張明 + en1 bã2a0 𪜶媽仔 > tiu͂ 1biŋ2 en1 bã2a0 張明𪜶媽仔. Note that, however, the slot for the personal pronoun here can in fact only be filled by the third person plural pronoun en1 𪜶: NounHUMAN + 3PL + NounKINSHIP/SOCIAL RELATIONS/LOCATION. Spatial orientation terms seem to be the only exception in that they can directly follow a person-denoting noun possessor without a linking morpheme, as in tiu͂ 1biŋ2 au4bǝ3 張明後尾 ‘Zhang Ming’s back’, where tiũ1biŋ2 and au4bǝ3 are the person’s name and the spatial orientation term meaning ‘back’, respectively. However, as with ‘pronoun possessor + spatial orientation term’, the construction ‘person-denoting noun possessor + spatial orientation term’ is uncommon in daily conversation, and can be interpreted as a clause in which the person-denoting noun possessor and the spatial orientation term function as the subject and the predicate, respectively. For example, tiu͂ 1biŋ2 au4bǝ3 張明後尾 can be used to express ‘Zhang Ming will follow’. Comparatively speaking, the spatial orientation term tends to follow a noun denoting location (or locative word), as in (29), though this is also not common in daily conversation, compared with other subtypes of zero-marked possessive construction, such as those denoting kinship and location.
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(29) 電影院 邊頭 ten5-4iã3-2in5 pin1thau0 cinema side ‘the place next to the cinema’ The following are two examples of possessive constructions in which both the possessor and the possessee are encoded by a noun denoting an inanimate object. (30) 桌骹 toʔ7-8-kha1 table-leg ‘the leg of the table’ (31) 桌屜 toʔ7-8-thuaʔ7 table-drawer ‘the drawer of the table’ In (30), the possessor and the possessee are encoded by the noun toʔ7 ‘table’ and kha1 ‘leg’, respectively. In (31), the possessor and the possessee are encoded by the noun toʔ7 ‘table’ and thuaʔ7 ‘drawer’, respectively. This type of possessive construction denotes a part-whole relationship. In addition, constructions such as (30) and (31) are in fact compound words in which the possessor and the possessee are in a close relationship with each other, and the possessor toʔ7 undergoes tone sandhi, iconically reflecting their closeness.
8.2.2 The demonstrative possessive construction: possessor + demonstrative (+ numeral + classifier) + possessee In Hui’an, all nominal demonstratives or demonstrative phrases, except tsiɔŋ3e /hiɔŋ3-2e2 ‘this/that kind of’, can be used to link the possessor and the possessee. This type of possessive construction can denote various kinds of possession, including property or association in general, abstract possession, body parts, location, social relations and kinship, in which, property or association in general constitutes one of the main functions. In addition, this type of construction typically denotes definite possession, that is, refers to specific entities. We may first look at the construction in which the personal pronoun functions as a possessor. As with the zero-marked possessive construction mentioned
2 2
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above, the plural personal pronoun as a possessor in this type of possessive construction often has a singular meaning, which will not be repeated here. The following are two examples of possessive constructions denoting property or association in general. (32) 汝 迄兩隻 鴨 lɯ3 hit7-8-lŋ4-tsiaʔ7-8 aʔ7 2SG that-two-CL duck ‘your two ducks’ (33) 㑑 懷 桌 3 2 lan huai toʔ7 1PL those table ‘our tables, those tables of ours’ As mentioned above, the possessee denoting the owned object cannot immediately follow the possessor to form an independent possessive construction. In (32), the demonstrative phrase hit7-8lŋ4tsiaʔ7 ‘those two’ is inserted between the possessor lɯ3 ‘you’ and the possessee aʔ7 ‘duck’. In (33), the demonstrative huai2 ‘those’ is inserted between the possessor lan3 ‘we’ and the possessee toʔ7 ‘table’. The demonstrative phrase hit7-8lŋ4tsiaʔ7 and the demonstrative huai2 not only function like a linking marker, but also, and more importantly, denote definiteness and involve the number of the possessee. Examples of possessive constructions denoting abstract possession and body parts are given in (34) and (35). (34) 伊 口 觀念 1 2 i hǝ kuan1liǝm5 3SG that.kind.of idea ‘his idea, that kind of idea of his’ (35) 汝 口 皮膚 合 食 藥 有 關係 lɯ3 tsat8-4 phǝ2-4hu1 kaʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8-4 ioʔ8 u4 kuan1he5 2SG this skin COM eat medicine have connection ‘(The situation of) your skin has something to do with taking medicine.’ The possessee denoting abstract possession usually cannot be immediately preceded by the possessor to form an independent possessive construction. In (34), the demonstrative hǝ2 is inserted between the pronoun possessor i1 ‘he’ and the
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abstract possessee kuan1liǝm5 ‘idea’, and the whole construction refers to a specific kind of idea. As mentioned in §8.2.1.1.4 above, the possessee denoting body parts normally does not directly follow a pronoun possessor in preverbal position to form an independent possessive construction. Thus, in (35), the demonstrative tsat8 is inserted between the pronoun possessor lɯ3 ‘you’ and the possessee phǝ24 hu1 ‘skin’ to refer to a specific state of the skin of the hearer during a certain period. The demonstratives hǝ2 and tsat8 in these two examples not only denote definiteness, but also function like a linking marker. This syntactic property provides further evidence of their status as being closer to the alienable end of the continuum for possession. Two examples of demonstrative possessive constructions in which the possessee is encoded by a noun denoting a unit or organization are given in (36) and (37). This subtype is uncommon in daily conversation, since, as mentioned in §8.2.1.1.2 above, the possessee denoting units or organizations normally immediately follows the pronoun possessor. (36) 𪜶 口 公司 en1 hat8-4 kɔŋ1si1 3PL that company ‘the company he works at’ (37) 𪜶 口 單位 en1 hǝ2 tua͂ 1ui5 3PL that.kind/of unit ‘the kind of unit like that he works in’ Similarly, there are also few examples of possessive constructions in which the demonstrative functions as a linker and the possessee is encoded by a noun denoting kinship. Compared to the zero-marked possessive construction, the demonstrative possessive construction denoting kinship is usually followed by a negative evaluation, as in (38). (38) 𪜶 口 大家 真 否死 en1 hat8-4 ta1ke1 tsen1 phai3-2si3 3PL that mother.in.law really evil ‘That mother-in-law of hers is really evil.’
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The following is an example of demonstrative possessive constructions denoting social relations. The demonstrative tsat8 ‘this’ is placed between the pronoun possessor len3 恁 ‘you’ and the possessee taŋ2-4oʔ8 同學 ‘classmate’ to refer to a specific classmate. (39) 恁 口 同學 len3 tsat8-4 taŋ2-4oʔ8 2PL this schoolmate ‘this classmate of yours’ The personal pronoun as a possessor in the examples above can all be replaced by a noun denoting human being such as tiũ1biŋ2 張明 ‘Zhang Ming’ and ken3-2a3 囝仔 ‘child’. In addition, the person-denoting noun can be added before the personal pronoun in the examples above to create an even more complex possessive construction. For example, the noun a1buin2 阿梅 ‘Ah-Mei’ can be added before the personal pronoun 𪜶 ‘they’ in example (38), that is, forming a1buin2 en1 hat8-4 ta1ke1 阿梅𪜶口大家 ‘that mother-in-law of Ah-Mei’s’ (lit. Ah-Mei they that mother-in-law).
8.2.3 The classifier possessive construction: possessor + classifier + possessee It is well known that classifiers in most Chinese varieties such as Mandarin Chinese usually require a preceding demonstrative or numeral in order to form a classifier phrase. In Yue, however, classifiers can be used alone without a demonstrative or numeral in the structure ‘classifier + noun’ known as ‘bare classifiers’ (cf. Matthews & Yip 2011; Liu 1997). A similar phenomenon is also attested in Wu, but it does not seem to be reported for Southern Min in earlier studies. In fact, Wang (2015) argues that in general the Min group forms a type on their own with respect to the phenomenon of bare classifiers, since they do not allow this structure even in postverbal position. Nonetheless, we showed in chapter 7 above, that bare classifiers are indeed possible in Hui’an in the postverbal position. In Hui’an, as in Yue, classifiers have a further function as a linker connecting the possessor and the possessee in the structure ‘possessor + classifier + possessee’. In addition, the possessee in this type of possessive construction is typically encoded by a common noun, as in (40) and (41) and has a singular interpretation.
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(40) 我 本 冊 gua3 pun3-2 tsheʔ7 1SG CL book ‘my book’ (41) 伊 條 鏈仔 i1 tiau2-4 len5-4-a3 3SG CL chain-NM ‘her necklace’ In (40), the possessive construction gua3 pun3-2 tsheʔ7 refers to a specific book. Similarly, i1 tiau2-4 len5-4a3 in (41) refers to a specific necklace. As shown by these two examples, singular personal pronouns such as gua3 ‘I’ in (40) and i1 ‘she’ in (41), rather than their plural counterparts, are used to express the singular meaning. The possessee in this type of possessive construction can also be encoded by a noun denoting social relations, as in (42). (42) 恁 孤 老師 len3 kɔ1 lau4sɯ1 2PL CL teacher ‘your teacher’ In (42), the classifier kɔ1 usually shows a derogatory sense. The classifier ui5 位 , a polite form for a human being, is usually not used in this type of construction. In addition, the plural personal pronoun len3 ‘you’ has a singular interpretation.
8.2.4 The possessive construction with the genitive marker e2 其: possessor + e2 其 + possessee 8.2.4.1 Personal pronoun + e2 + noun As mentioned above, the personal pronoun, especially its plural form, can precede a noun to form a zero-marked possessive construction. However, the genitive marker e2 其 tends to be used when the possessee is encoded by a body part or a common noun, while the plural form of the personal pronoun tends to express a plural meaning in this structure. In addition, the singular form, rather than the plural form, of the personal pronoun tends to be used in daily conversation. Two examples are given in (43) and (44).
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(43) 伊 其 i1 e2-4 3SG GEN ‘his foot’
骹 kha1 foot
(44) 我 其 車 gua3 e2-4 tshia1 1SG GEN vehicle ‘my car’ In (43), the possessee kha1 denotes a body part, and the possessor is encoded by the third person singular pronoun i1. In (44), the possessee tshia1 is a common noun, and the possessor is encoded by the first person singular pronoun gua3. In these two examples, the possessor and the possessee are linked by the genitive marker e2 其. The possessive construction with the genitive marker e2 may be used, when the zero-marked possessive construction is ambiguous. An example is given in (45). (45) 我 其 媽仔 gua3 e2-4 bã2-a0 1SG GEN mother-NM ‘my mother’ In Hui’an, ‘my mother’ is usually expressed by the possessive construction gun3-2 bã2a0 阮媽仔 (lit. our mother-NM), in which the possessor is encoded by the first person plural pronoun gun3 (see §8.2.1.1.1). However, gun3-2 bã2a0 may also mean ‘our mother’ in some contexts. Thus, example (45) may be used when the speaker aims to avoid misunderstanding, or wishes to emphasize the referent of the possessor. A similar phenomenon is also attested in the possessive construction denoting social relations, location and spatial orientation: the genitive marker e2 may be employed to disambiguate number of the possessor. The possessee of this type of possessive construction is typically encoded by a common noun, as in (44). In addition, this type of possessive construction is not limited to definite singular possession, e.g. (44) may refer to a specific car, or may generally refer to the car(s) that belong(s) to me.
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8.2.4.2 Noun + e2 + noun There are few examples of this type of possessive construction in our recordings of daily conversation. However, in terms of acceptability, all kinds of noun are able to occur in this type of construction which can semantically express various kinds of possession, as shown by examples (46) – (48). (46) 張明 其 車 (ownership) 1 2 2-4 tiũ biŋ e tshia1 PN GEN vehicle ‘Zhang Ming’s car’ (47) 張明 其 媽仔 (kinship) tiũ1biŋ2 e2-4 bã2-a0 PN GEN mother-NM ‘Zhang Ming’s mother’ (48) 張明 其 態度 (abstract possession) tiũ1biŋ e2-4 thai5-3tɔ5 PN GEN attitude ‘Zhang Ming’s attitude’ The genitive marker in Southern Min shares its pronunciation with the general classifier. For example, in Hui’an, they are all pronounced as e2. Cross-linguistically, this is probably a case of the same morpheme associated with multiple functions. Similar phenomena can be attested in other Chinese varieties such as the Chaozhou variety of Southern Min (cf. Xu & Matthews 2011).
8.3 Predicative possessive constructions The predicative possessive construction in Hui’an falls into two categories: (a) possessee (+si4 ‘be’) + possessor + e2 其; (b) possessor + u4 ‘have’ + possessee. In type (a), the copula si4 is usually omitted, and the possessee may be omitted too. The possessor in type (b) may be omitted. The predicative possessive construction, especially type (a), is not common in daily conversation, compared with the attributive possessive construction. This may be one of the reasons why the predicative possessive construction has not yet attracted much attention in Chinese linguistics. In the following, we focus on the semantic functions of the predicative possessive construction, and its differences from the attributive possessive construction in terms of pragmatic usage.
162 | Possessive constructions
8.3.1 Semantic functions The type (a) predicative possessive construction typically denotes property in daily conversation, as in (49). (49) Possessee + possessor + e2 其 迄領 恁 阿姊 其 呀 7-8 3 3-2 1 3 2 hit -lia͂ len a -tsi e ia0 that-CL 2PL PREF-sister GEN SFP ‘That piece of (clothes) is your sisters.’ The type (b) predicative possessive construction normally denotes property too as in (50), but also often expresses abstract possession, as in (51). (50) Possessor + u4 ‘have’ + possessee 我 有 目鏡 (property) gua3 u4 bak8-4kiã5 1SG have glasses ‘I have glasses.’ (51) Possessor + u4 ‘have’ + possessee 伊 有 壓力 (abstract possession) i1 u4 ap7-8liak8 3SG have pressure ‘He feels some pressure.’
8.3.2 Pragmatic differences The possessor and the possessee in the attributive possessive construction usually function together as background information. Two examples are given in (52) and (53). (52) 𪜶 翁 愛 啉 燒酒 en1 aŋ1 ai5-3 liǝm1 sio1tsiu3 3PL husband like drink alcohol ‘Her husband likes drinking alcohol.’
Predicative possessive constructions | 163
(53) 汝 其 相 與 恁 爸仔 看 lɯ3 e2-4 siɔŋ5 khɔ5-4 len3-2 pa2-a0 khuã5 2SG GEN picture give 2PL father-NM look ‘Let your father look at your pictures.’ The possessive constructions en1 aŋ1 ‘her husband’ and lɯ3 e2-4 siɔŋ5 ‘your pictures’, functioning as a subject and topic in (52) and (53) respectively, provide background information, while the predicates, ai5-3 liǝm1 sio1tsiu3 ‘like drinking alcohol’ and khɔ5-4 len3-2 pa2a0 khuã5 ‘let your father take a look at (it)’, involve new information. The attributive possessive construction usually involves new information when it functions as (part of) predicate, as in (54) and (55). (54) 即個 阿三 其 朋友 tsit7-8-e2-4 a1sã1 e2-4 piŋ2-4iu3 this-CL PN GEN friend ‘This is a friend of Ah-San.’ (55) 恁 著 學 我 其 3 8-4 8-4 3 len tioʔ oʔ gua e2-4 2PL should learn 1SG GEN ‘You should learn my attitude.’
態度 thai5-3tɔ5 attitude
In (54), the possessive construction a1sã1 e2-4 piŋ2-4iu3 ‘Ah-San’s friend’ functions as a predicate and provides new information. In (55), the possessive construction gua3 e2-4 thai5-3tɔ5 ‘my attitude’ functions as an object of the verb oʔ8 ‘learn’, and provides new information too. In the type (b) predicative possessive construction, the possessee is the background information, while the possessor is the new information, as shown by (56), in which, the possessor gun3 is the background information, while the possessee ui2-4kǝn1 represents new information. (56) 阮 有 圍巾 gun3 u4 ui2-4kǝn1 1PL have scarf ‘I have a scarf.’ In contrast to this, the type (a) predicative possessive construction is sometimes used to emphasize the possessor, as in (57).
164 | Possessive constructions
(57) 是 我 其, 呣 是 汝 其 si4 gua3 e2 m5-4 si4 lɯ3 e2 be 1SG GEN not be 2SG GEN ‘(This) is mine, not yours.’
8.4 Summary In this chapter, we have examined two types of possessive construction: the attributive possessive construction and the predicative possessive construction. The attributive possessive construction falls into four categories in terms of whether or not there exists a linking morpheme between the possessor and the possessee, and if yes, the form of the linking morpheme: (a) the zero-marked possessive construction: possessor + possessee; (b) the possessive construction with a demonstrative or demonstrative phrase: possessor + demonstrative (+ numeral + classifier) + possessee; (c) the classifier possessive construction: possessor + classifier + possessee and (d) the possessive construction with the genitive marker e2 其: possessor + e2 其 + possessee. These four types of construction differ from each other in terms of their forms and semantic functions. In addition, note that the common shared feature is that the possessor invariably precedes the possessee. The predicative possessive construction can be divided into two types: (a) possessee (+si4 ‘be’) + possessor + e2 其; and (b) possessor + u4 ‘have’ + possessee, among which, type (a) is commonly used to denote property in colloquial registers of speech such as daily conversation, while type (b) normally denotes property, but also often expresses abstract possession.
| Part II: predicate structure This part, Part II, focuses on predicate structure. In the following chapters, we examine reduplication, verb complement constructions, aspect, modality, negation, adpositions and adverbs. Reduplication constitutes an important aspect of verbal morphology, though it is not confined to verbs. For reasons of convenience, reduplication involving other word classes is also mentioned.
9 Reduplication 9.1 Introduction Reduplication is traditionally regarded as a morphological process (or word formation process) in which a word or part of a word (e.g. the root or stem) is repeated,1 and can be found in a wide range of language families, e.g. the Austronesian family in South-East Asia and the Salish family in North America (Rubino 2005; Nadarajan 2006; among others). In many languages, reduplication is used to convey grammatical functions (e.g. plurality, diminution and intensity), and to derive word classes or new lexemes (cf. Rubino 2005; Nadarajan 2006). Reduplication is also widespread and diversified in Chinese. As mentioned in Zhang (1997:38), the range of reduplication types is greater outside of Mandarin Chinese. Unlike Mandarin Chinese, reduplication in Hui’an is neither used to form kinship terms, nor applied to classifiers to express the meaning of ‘every’. However, reduplication in Hui’an is often applied more than once to express increased intensity (an increased amount of emphasis), and constitutes an important aspect of verbal morphology, though it is not confined to verbs, as can be seen in the following.2
9.2 Form Two types of reduplication are distinguished based on the size of the reduplicant (the reduplicated element): full vs. partial, both of which types are pervasive in the languages of the world (cf. Rubino 2005, 2007). In Hui’an, however, reduplication typically takes the form of full reduplication, while partial reduplication is rare. This means that base and reduplicant are essentially represented by the same form, although the new reduplicated form is subject to tone sandhi rules, which will not be discussed here (see chapter 2). The reduplicant involves lexical items with a range of parts of speech, especially verbs, such as the action verb buaʔ7 抹 ‘smear’ in (1) and the qualitative adjective tshiŋ1tshɔ3 清楚 ‘clear’ in (2). (1)
buaʔ7 抹 ‘smear’ (action verb) -> buaʔ7-8~buaʔ7 抹抹 ‘smear repeatedly’
|| 1 Note also that reduplication is often treated as a phonological phenomenon in Generative Grammar. 2 For convenience, reduplication involving non-verbs is also examined here. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-009
168 | Reduplication
(2) tshiŋ1tshɔ3 清楚 ‘clear’ (qualitative adjective) -> tshiŋ1~tshiŋ1tshɔ3-2~tshɔ3 清清 楚楚 ‘a state of clarity’ (stative adjective) In (2), the reduplicant tshiŋ1tshɔ3 usually denotes a property, ‘clear’, whereas the reduplicated form tshiŋ1tshiŋ1tshɔ3-2tshɔ3 typically describes a state of clarity. The reduplicant can be a common noun such as bu5 霧 ‘fog’ in (3), or an adverb such as tshɔ1 初 ‘just’ in (4). (3) bu5 霧 ‘fog’ (noun) -> bu5-2~bu5 霧霧 ‘foggy’ (stative adjective) (4)
tshɔ1 初 ‘just, a short time ago’ (adverb) -> tshɔ1~tshɔ1 初初 ‘just, a very short time ago’
In (3), the reduplication of the noun bu5 creates a stative adjective bu5-2bu5 describing the state of being foggy3. In (4), the reduplicated form tshɔ1tshɔ1 emphasizes that an event just happened a very short time ago. The reduplicant can also be a localizer such as pin1 邊 ‘side’ in (5), a classifier such as liǝp8 粒 in (6), or the complex [numeral + classifier] such as tsit8-4 e2 蜀個 ‘one’ in (7). (5) pin1 邊 ‘side’ (localizer) -> pin1-2~pin1 邊邊 ‘right on the far side’ (6) liǝp8 粒 (classifier < grain) -> liǝp8-4~liǝp8 粒粒 ‘the state of being granular’ (stative adjective) (7) tsit8-4 e2 蜀個 ‘one’ (numeral + classifier) -> tsit8-4 e2~tsit8-4 e2 蜀個蜀個 ‘one by one’ In (6), the reduplicant, i.e. the classifier liǝp8, is typically used for grain-like objects such as rice (see §7.3), while the reduplicated form liǝp8-4liǝp8 functions as a stative adjective describing the state that the grain is undercooked or something that is not smooth but lumpy. The following example shows that the reduplicant can also be a syllable without a specific meaning.
|| 3 This phenomenon is also found in other Southern Min varieties (e.g. the Quanzhou, Yongchun and Xiamen varieties in Fujian and the Chaoyang and Haifeng varieties in Guangdong), not to mention other Min varieties such as Puxian 莆仙 (Wang and Zhang 1994:90, Zhang 1999:9).
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(8) bɔ͂1 摸 (syllable without a specific meaning) -> am5-3-bɔ͂ 1~bɔ͂1 暗摸摸 ‘a state of darkness’ (stative adjective) In (8), bɔ͂1bɔ͂1, a reduplication of the syllable bɔ͂1, is attached to the monosyllabic adjective am5 ‘dark’ to form a reduplicated form of the adjective, i.e. am5-3bɔ͂1bɔ͂1, which describes a state of darkness. As shown by the examples above, reduplicated forms in Hui’an fall into four types in terms of their formal properties: (a) AA, e.g. buaʔ7-8buaʔ7 in (1); (b) ABB, e.g. am5-3bɔ͂1bɔ͂1 in (8); (c) AABB, e.g. tshiŋ1tshiŋ1tshɔ3-2tshɔ3 in (2); and (d) ABAB, e.g. tsit8-4 e2 tsit8-4 e2 in (7). Types (a) and (b) apply to monosyllabic bases, while types (c) and (d) apply to disyllabic bases. Cross-linguistically, the reduplicant is most often repeated only once, while in some languages, reduplication can occur more than once, that is, triplication is attested (cf. Nadarajan 2006). In Hui’an, triplication is very common, especially triplication of monosyllabic verbs, as in (9) and (10). (9) 講講講 kaŋ3~kaŋ3~kaŋ3 say~say~say ‘talk repeatedly’ (10) 紅紅紅 aŋ2~aŋ2-4~aŋ2 red~red~red ‘very red’ Reduplication can even be applied three or four times (or even more than four times) to monosyllabic adjectives, as illustrated by (11) and (12) below. (11) 紅紅紅紅 aŋ2~aŋ2-4~aŋ2-4~aŋ2 red~red~red~red ‘extremely red’ (12) 紅紅紅紅紅 aŋ2~aŋ2-4~aŋ2-4~aŋ2-4~aŋ2 red~red~red~red~red ‘totally red’
170 | Reduplication
Note that the number of occurrences of the reduplicant iconically expresses differences in degree: the more the occurrences of the reduplicant, the higher the degree of the state it describes, which will be discussed in §9.3.3.
9.3 Functions The functions of reduplication in Hui’an fall into five categories: (a) derivational in forming a new word; (b) aspectual in expressing a repeated or continued event; (c) augmentative in expressing increased quantity of participants of an event; (d) intensifying in expressing increased intensity; and (e) distributive in expressing the meaning of ‘one by one’. In the following, we focus on types (a) - (d). We just reproduce one example here of type (e), example (7) in §9.2, that is, tsit8-4 e2~tsit84 2 e ‘one by one’, which illustrates that the reduplication of the complex [numeral + classifier] has the meaning of ‘one by one’.
9.3.1 Word formation through reduplication Reduplication can be used to form a stative adjective or adverb. Examples (3) and (6) in §9.2 above illustrate that the reduplication of a noun or classifier can create a stative adjective describing a state, e.g. the reduplication of the classifier liǝp8 creates a stative adjective to describe the state of the grain being undercooked or something that is not smooth but lumpy. Two more examples of stative adjectives derived through reduplication are given in (13) below. (13) Stative adjectives derived through reduplication a. khui1 開 ‘open’ (action verb) -> khui1-2~khui1 開開 ‘in the state of being open’ b. aŋ2 紅 ‘red’ (qualitative adjective) -> aŋ2~aŋ2 紅紅 ‘a state of being red’ Examples in (13) are used to describe a state. In (13a), the monosyllabic action verb khui1 ‘open’ is reduplicated and the reduplicated form khui1-2khui1 functions as a stative adjective describing the state of being open. In (13b), the reduplication of the qualitative adjective aŋ2 ‘red’ creates a stative adjective aŋ2aŋ2 describing a state of being red and indicating the evaluation of the speaker.4
|| 4 Reduplication of a monosyllabic adjective such as aŋ2~aŋ2 in (13c) is regarded as expressing ‘a little’ in Quanzhou (Wang and Zhang 1994:128), or expressing increased or decreased quantity
Functions | 171
The following are examples of adverbs derived through reduplication. (14) Adverbs derived through reduplication a. 偷偷 去 看 迄隻 狗 thau1~thau1 khɯ5-3 khuã5-3 hit7-8-tsiaʔ7-8 kau3 steal~steal Go look that-CL dog ‘(We) went stealthily to see that dog.’ b. 好好 寫 ho3-2~ho3 sia3 good~good Write ‘write (it) carefully’ c. 好好 飛 過 ho3-2~ho3 pǝ1 kǝ0 good~good fly pass ‘happen to fly over’ In (14a), the monosyllabic action verb thau1 ‘steal’ is reduplicated and the reduplicated form thau1thau1 functions as an adverb meaning ‘stealthily’. In both (14b) and (14c), the reduplicant is the monosyllabic adjective ho3 ‘good’ and the reduplicated form ho3-2ho3 functions as an adverb, but with different meanings: it means ‘carefully’ in (14b), but means ‘coincidentally ‘or ‘happen to’ in (14c).
9.3.2 Repeated or continued event In Hui’an, the reduplicated forms of action verbs typically express a repeated event, as shown by (15). (15) 湯 啉啉 1 liǝm1~liǝm1 thŋ soup drink~drink ‘Have soup (repeatedly).’
|| in Xiamen (Zhou and Ouyang 1998:270), or denoting vivification and some degree of intensification in both Taiwan Southern Min and Mandarin (Cheng 1997d:312).
172 | Reduplication
In (15), the speaker wants the addressee to have more soup, in other words, to carry out the action of having soup again and again. This function can also be regarded as expressing the aspectual meaning of iterativity. Example (15) above can be regarded as a case of a repeated event with the same participant. Reduplicated forms of action verbs can also express repeated events with different participants. This applies to the agent of an event as well as the patient. Examples are given in (16) and (17), respectively. (16) 𪜶 逐個 說說 者 en1 tak8-4-e2 sǝʔ7-8~sǝʔ7 tse0 3PL every-CL say~say DELIM ‘Everyone of them had a short conversation (with me).’ (17) a. 懷 窗 共 關關 (起來) huai2 thaŋ1 ka5-1 kuin1~kuin1 khai0 those window OM close~close RVC ‘Close those windows.’ b. 口 窗 共 關 (起來) 8-4 1 5-1 1 hat thaŋ ka kuin khai0 that window OM close RVC ‘Close the window.’ c. *口 窗 共 關關 (起來) *hat8-4 thaŋ1 ka5-1 kuin1~kuin1 khai0 that window OM close~close RVC ‘Close the window.’ In (16), the event sǝʔ7 ‘speak’ is performed by different people and the agent i.e. en1 tak8-4e2 ‘everyone of them’ is plural. The reduplicated form kuin1kuin1 ‘close repeatedly’ is normally used together with a plural noun such as huai2 thaŋ1 ‘those windows’ in (17a). This is more obvious when compared with (17b) and (17c), in which the singular noun hat8-4 thaŋ1 ‘that window’ is compatible with the simple verb kuin1 ‘close’, but not the reduplicated form kuin1kuin1 ‘close repeatedly’. The plural noun huai2 thaŋ1 ‘those windows’ here functions syntactically as a topic while it is semantically the patient of the reduplicated form kuin1kuin1 ‘close repeatedly’. Reduplicated forms of postural verbs typically express a continued event, as in (18).
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(18) 食 飽 徛徛 tsiaʔ8-4 pa3 khia4~khia4 eat full stand~stand ‘Keep standing for a while after having dinner.’
9.3.3 Increased quantity of participants The following example shows that reduplicated forms of action verbs can also be used to emphasize the amount or the number of participants in an event, without indicating a repeated event. (19) 走 來 厝裡 拖拖 遘 蜀 tsau3 lai2-4 tshu5-3-lai4 thua1~thua1 a3 tsit8-4 run come house-inside drag~drag EVC one ‘Come home to buy a lot of (things).’
大 堆 tua5-4 tui1 big MW
In (18), the event of thua1 ‘drag’, which means ‘buy’ in its colloquial use, typically happens only once, while the reduplicated form thua1thua1 is used to emphasize the large quantity of its object, i.e. the things bought.
9.3.4 Increased intensity Moravcsik (1978:321) points out that ‘intensity appears related to quantity in that it involves quantity of energy investment or size of effect. If an action is performed with greater intensity,...what it means is that it is performed more thoroughly and/or with greater than ordinary effect’. This function of reduplication is typically found in the duplicated forms which undergo the process of reduplication more than once as in examples (9) – (12) in §9.2. One more example is given in (20) below. (20) a. 融融融 iũ2~iũ2-4~iũ2 melt~melt~melt ‘all melted’
174 | Reduplication
b. 融融融融 iũ2~iũ2-4~iũ2-4~iũ2 melt~melt~melt~melt ‘all thoroughly melted’ (with increased intensity) The function of expressing increased intensity can also be found in verb reduplication, adverb reduplication and localizer reduplication in which reduplication only occurs once, as in (21) – (23) below. (21) 想想 siũ4~siũ4 think~think ‘think (things) more thoroughly’ (22) 平平 pin2-4~pin2 equally~equally ‘completely equally’ (23) 中中 tiɔŋ1-2~tiɔŋ1 centre~centre ‘the very centre’ In (21), the reduplicated form siũ4siũ4 means thinking about something more thoroughly. In (22), pin2 alone also means ‘equally’, and the reduplicated form pin24 pin2 intensifies the ‘equally’ meaning. The reduplicated form tiɔŋ1-2tiɔŋ1 in (23) can be regarded as an intensification of the degree of location.
9.4 Summary In this chapter, reduplication has been examined in terms of form and function, a summary of which is given in Table 9-1 below. Reduplication typically takes the form of full reduplication. The reduplicant involves lexical items with a range of parts of speech especially verbs, but also some nouns, adverbs, localizers, classifiers, the complex [numeral + classifier] or syllables without a specific meaning. It is common for a reduplication process to be applied twice to the reduplicant in Hui’an, that is, forming a triplicated form, or even three or four times. Reduplica-
Summary | 175
tion can be used for (a) forming a new word; (b) expressing a repeated or continued event; (c) expressing increased quantity of participants in an event; (d) expressing increased intensity; and (e) expressing the meaning of ‘one by one’. Tab. 9-1: Forms and functions concerning reduplication in the Hui’an dialect
Reduplicant
Reduplicated form Hui’an
Mandarin Chinese
Functions Hui’an
Mandarin Chinese
forming a new word (stative adjective; adverb); repeated or continued event; increased quantity of participants in an event; increased intensity
signaling the actor’s doing something “a little bit”, the delimitative aspect
Verb
AA AA AABB ABAB ABAB AAA
Adjective
AA AABB ABAB AAA AAAA AAAAA …
AA AABB A 里 AB ABAB
forming a new word (stative adjective; adverb); increased intensity
forming a new word (stative adjective, adverb); increased intensity
Noun
AA
AA
forming a new word (stative adjective)
forming kinship terms and some nouns such as xīngxing 星星 ‘star’
Adverb
AA
AA
increased intensity
increased intensity
AA
forming a new word (stative adjective)
yielding the meaning ‘every’
Numeral + classifier ABAB
ABAB
expressing the meaning of ‘one by one’.
expressing the meaning of ‘one by one’.
Syllable without a specific meaning
(A)BB
reduplication of the syllable is attached to a monosyllabic adjective to form a stative adjective
reduplication of the syllable is attached to a monosyllabic adjective to form a stative adjective
Localizer
AA
Classifier
AA
(A)BB
increased intensity
10 Verb complement constructions 10.1 Introduction The term ‘complement’ here is used to refer to modifying elements that are verb phrases (VP), sentences or quantitative expressions occurring after a main verb1 (cf. Yue 2001:233) and which form part of the given predicate. This should be distinguished from the ‘complement’ in syntactic theory, which is mainly expressed by a noun phrase acting as an object of the verb or by a subordinate clause acting in the place of the core argument (the subject or the object) of a matrix clause (Dixon & Aikhenvald, 2006). Verb complements can be classified into seven major types in terms of their semantic functions: directional, resultative, phase, manner, extent, quantitative and potential (e.g. Chao 1968, Zhu 1982, Chen 1992, Zhou and Ouyang 1998, Shi 1996c), as illustrated by the Mandarin examples in (1) below. (1)
Mandarin examples of verb complement construction a. directional verb complement construction 出 來 (V1-V2DIR) chū lai go.out come ‘come out’ b. resultative verb complement construction 說 清楚 (V1-V2RES) shuō qīngchu say clear ‘make (it) clear’ c. verb-phase complement construction 我 碰 到 一 件 怪事 (V1-V2PHA) wǒ pèng dao yī jiàn guài-shì 1SG meet PVC one CL odd-thing ‘I met with a strange event.’ Chao (1968:447)
|| 1 For convenience of analysis, the term ‘verb’ here is used as a cover term for verb and adjective. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-010
Introduction | 177
d. verb-manner complement construction 跑 得 快 (V-DE-C) pǎo de kuài run CM fast ‘run fast’ e. verb-extent complement construction 冷 死 了 (V-sǐ) lěng sǐ le cold die PFV ‘It’s freezing.’ f. verb-quantitative complement construction 多 看 幾 遍 (V-Quantitative phrase) duō kàn jǐ biàn more look several times ‘watch (it) more times’ g. potential verb complement construction 說 得 清楚 (V-DE-C) shuō de qīngchu say CM clear ‘can make (it) clear’ In (1a), lai (with neutral tone), originally a verb meaning ‘come’ (lái, full-toned), functions as a directional complement indicating a direction of the action encoded by the verb chū ‘go out’ towards a given deictic reference point, often the speaker. In (1b), the adjective qīngchu ‘clear’ functions as a resultative complement of the verb shuō ‘speak, talk’ indicating the result state of the action. In (1c), dao (with neutral tone), originally a verb meaning ‘arrive’ (dào, citation tone), functions as a phase complement expressing a phase of the action, pèng ‘meet, run into’. Note that phase complements denote a particular stage in the process of an action or event and differ from aspect markers in being less grammaticalized (cf. Chao 1968:446). In (1d), the adjective kuài ‘fast’ functions as a manner complement describing the way in which the action, pǎo ‘run’, is carried out. Unlike the directional, resultative and phase complements, a manner complement such as kuài cannot directly follow the verb, but requires the complement marker de (with neutral tone), which is originally a verb meaning ‘get, obtain’ (dé, citation tone). In (1e), sǐ, originally a verb meaning ‘die’, functions as an intensifier
178 | Verb complement constructions
expressing the extent of the state encoded by the adjective lěng ‘cold’. This use of sǐ is regarded as an extent complement in Chinese linguistics. In (1f), the complement of the verb kàn ‘look, watch’ is encoded by the quantitative phrase jǐ biàn ‘several times’ in which biàn is traditionally regarded as a verb classifier. In (g), the infix de is inserted between the verb shuō ‘speak, talk’ and the complement qīngchu ‘clear’ to express the possibility of making something clear. Much attention has been devoted to these verb complement constructions in Chinese from both synchronic and diachronic perspectives, including for Southern Min varieties (e.g. Chao 1968; Zhu 1982; Yang 1991; Chen 1992; Shi 1996c; Wu 1996; Li and Zhang 1997; Tang 1999b; Lien 1992, 2006; Zhou and Ouyang 1998; Lamarre 2001; Shen 2003; Zhang 2003; Li 2007b; Liu Z. 2008). Studies of verb complement constructions are also found in the literature regarding languages of the ethnic minorities in China such as Zhuang, e.g. Wei and Qin (1980) and Zhang et al. (1999). In the present chapter, we will discuss verb complement constructions in Hui’an in some detail in the order as shown by (1) above in the following sections, §10.2 to §10.8.
10.2 Directional verb complement constructions: V1-V2DIR Directional verb complement constructions are formed by an action verb (including the directional verbs2) and its directional complement which is encoded by a directional (compound) verb indicating the direction of an action. In other words, this construction takes the form of V1-V2DIR, as illustrated by (2) below. (2) a. 送 來 5 saŋ lai0 send come ‘send (it) here’
|| 2 Note that the term ‘the directional verbs’ here include lai2 來 ‘come’ and khɯ5 去 ‘go’, which are regarded as deictic verbs and distinguished from the directional words such as 入 ‘into’ and 起 ‘up’ by Lien (2006b:759). We agree with Lien (2006b) that there exists a difference between these two types. However, we suggest that all these words can be labeled as directional verbs which then fall into two types: deictic and non-deictic.
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b. 搬 出來 puã1 tshut0lai0 move come.out ‘move (it) out’ In (2a), lai0 (with neutral tone), originally a directional verb meaning ‘come’ (lai2, full-toned), follows the action verb saŋ5 ‘send’ functioning as its directional complement indicating the direction of sending something. In (2b), tshut0lai0 (with neutral tone), originally a directional compound verb meaning ‘come out’ (tshut7lai0), follows the action verb puã1 ‘move’ functioning as its directional complement indicating the direction of moving something. Both directional complements involve phonological reduction, i.e. being in a neutral tone. These two examples also illustrate that directional complements (i.e. V2DIR in V1-V2DIR) fall into two types in terms of their forms: (i) monosyllabic or simple, as in (2a); and (ii) disyllabic or compound, which are formed by the verb meaning ‘come’ or ‘go’ preceded by another monosyllabic directional verb, as in (2b). A complete list of these complements is given in the table below: Tab. 10-1: Directional complements in the Hui’an dialect
Monosyllabic directional complements
Disyllabic directional complements
lai2 來 ‘come’ khɯ5 去 ‘go’
lai2-4khɯ5 來去 ‘go’
khi3 起 ‘up’
khi3lai0 起來 ‘come up’/khi3khɯ0 起去 ‘go up’
8
loʔ 落 ‘down’
loʔ8lai0 落來 ‘come down’/loʔ8khɯ0 落去 ‘go down’
tshut7 出 ‘out’
tshut7lai0 出來 ‘come out’/tshut7khɯ0 出去 ‘go out’
8
liǝp 入‘into’
liǝp8lai0 入來 ‘come into’ and liǝp8khɯ0 入去 ‘go into’
kǝ5 過 ‘pass’
kǝ5lai0 過來 ‘come over’/kǝ5khɯ0 過去 ‘go over’ to5lai0 倒來 ‘come back’/to5khɯ0 倒去 ‘go back’
In the remainder of this section, directional verb complement constructions will be examined in terms of (a) forms and meanings of directional complements; (b) the relative order of the verb, complement and object; (c) negative forms; and (d) other functions of directional complements.
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10.2.1 Directional complements 10.2.1.1 Monosyllabic directional complements Monosyllabic directional complements in Hui’an mainly involve lai2 來 ‘come’, khɯ5 去 ‘go’, khi3 起 ‘up’, loʔ8 落 ‘down’, tshut7 出 ‘out’, liǝp8 入‘into’ and kǝ5 過 ‘pass’, of which lai2 and khɯ5 are widely used, while the others are much less used, which may be due to their different status as suggested by Lien (2006b:759) and outlined in note 5. Lai2 來 ‘come’/khɯ5 去 ‘go’ follow the main verb to indicate that a person or thing moves to the place where the speaker is (or some other given reference point), as in (3) and (4), and from the place where the speaker is to somewhere else, as in (5). They have developed into deictic verbs on the basis of their original lexical meaning of motion (see classic studies such as Fillmore 1971). (3) 走 來 3 tsau lai0 run come ‘come here’ 來 (4) 錢 呣免 寄 tsin2 m5-4ben3-2 kia5 lai0 money no.need mail come ‘There is no need to send (us) money.’ (5) 單 摕 去 tuã1 thueʔ8 khɯ0 receipt take go ‘Give (you) the receipt to take with (you).’ In (3), tsau3 ‘run’ is an intransitive verb, thus lai0 indicates that the agent of the action tsau3 moves to the place where the speaker is. In (4), kia5 ‘mail’ is a transitive verb and lai0 means that the patient of the action kia5 (i.e. tsin2 ‘money’) ordinarily moves to the place where the speaker is. In (5), thueʔ8 ‘take’ is also a transitive verb, while khɯ0 expresses that both the agent and patient of the action thueʔ8 (i.e. the omitted lɯ3 ‘you’ and tuã1 ‘receipt’) move from the place where the speaker is to somewhere else. These illustrate that the direction indicated by directional complements involves the agent or patient of the action encoded by the verb, or both the agent and patient of the action, depending on the syntactic and semantic properties of the verb. These three examples also show that directional
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complements take on a neutral tone when occurring at the end of the phrase (see §20.3.3 in Chen (2011) for discussion). In addition, the patients in (4) and (5), i.e. tsin2 and tuã1, are topicalized. Khi3 起 ‘up’ is used to indicate that a person or thing moves from a lower place to a higher place, as in (6) where the omitted agent with the patient of kŋ1 扛 ‘carry’ (i.e. tsuai2 ‘these’) moves from a lower place to a higher place. Loʔ8 落 ‘down’ indicates that a person or thing such as the patient of kɔk8 摑 ‘throw’ (i.e. tsua3 紙 ‘paper’) in (7) moves from a higher place to a lower place. (6) 撮 著 扛 起 tsuai2 tioʔ8-4 kŋ1 khi0 these should carry up ‘These should be carried upstairs.’ (7) 紙 摑 落 3 8 tsua kɔk loʔ0 paper throw down ‘Throw the paper down.’ Liǝp8 入 ‘into’ and tshut7 出 ‘out’ usually mean that a person or thing such as the agent of kiã2 行 ‘walk’ in (8) moves from the outside to the inside and from the inside to the outside respectively. (8) 行 出 行 入 kiã2-4 tshut7 kiã2-4 liǝp8 walk out walk into ‘walk in and out’ Note that the order of kiã2-4 tshut7 and kiã2-4 liǝp8 in (8) is different from its counterparts in Mandarin Chinese and English which use zǒu jìn zǒu chū 走進走出 and walk in and out, respectively. Use of kǝ5 過 ‘pass’ to indicate a person or thing passing by a place can be exemplified by (9), where the agent of len3 輦 ‘stroll, walk’ passes his friend’s shop when he walks from one place to another. (9) 我 輦 過 gua3 len3 kǝ0 1SG walk pass ‘I walked past (his shop).’
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10.2.1.2 Disyllabic directional complements Disyllabic directional complements in Hui’an involve khi3lai0 起 來 ‘come up’/khi3khɯ0 起去 ‘go up’, loʔ8lai0 落來 ‘come down’/loʔ8khɯ0 落去 ‘go down’, liǝp8lai0 入來 ‘come into’ and liǝp8khɯ0 入去 ‘go into’, tshut7lai0 出來 ‘come out’/tshut7khɯ0 出去 ‘go out’, kǝ5lai0 過來 ‘come over’/kǝ5khɯ0 過去 ‘go over’, to5lai0 倒來 ‘come back’/to5khɯ0 倒去 ‘go back’, and lai2-4khɯ5 來去 ‘go’.3 In each set of these complements, the one with khɯ0 ‘go’ is less used than the one with lai0 ‘come’, since the functions of the disyllabic directional complements with khɯ0 basically equal their counterparts with monosyllabic directional complements: both mean ‘away from the speaker’. The tendency is for the directional complement use of khi3khɯ0 起去 ‘go up’ to be replaced by its monosyllabic counterpart khi3 起 ‘up’ (see §10.2.4 for the nonspatial use of khi3khɯ0). The use of khi3lai0 起來 ‘come up’ to indicate a person or thing moving from a lower place to a higher place, where the speaker is, can be exemplified by (10). (10) 汝 共 我 帶 起來 lɯ3 ka5-4 gua3-2 tua5 khi0lai0 2SG for 1SG bring come.up ‘Bring (it) up for me.’ The complement khi3lai0 has a contracted form khai, which is much more used than khi3lai0, especially for functions other than as a verb or directional complement (see §10.3.1.2, Chen & Wu 2015). Loʔ8lai0 落來 ‘come down’ and loʔ8khɯ0 落去 ‘go down’ indicate that a person or thing moves toward the speaker or away from the speaker, respectively, as in (11) and (12). (11) 行 落來 kiã2 loʔ0lai0 walk come.down ‘walk down’
|| 3 The disyllabic directional complements to5lai0 ‘come back’/to5khɯ0 ‘go back’ are not reported in Taiwan, where the monosyllabic to3 ‘back’ seems to be used instead (cf. Lien 1992:382). The directional complement lai2-4khɯ5 ‘go’ is also not attested in Taiwan, but can be found in other Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou (Li 1997:131) and Chaozhou (Lin 1997:10). However, the directional complements tng lai ‘come back’/tng khi ‘go back’ attested in Taiwan are not found in Hui’an.
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(12) 倒 落去 to5 loʔ0khɯ0 pour go.down ‘pour (it) down’ Examples of liǝp8lai0 入來 ‘come into’ and liǝp8khɯ0 入去 ‘go into’ are given in (13) and (14), where liǝp0lai0 in (13) indicates that the omitted agent of kiã2 ‘walk’ moves from the outside to the inside where the speaker is located, and the patient of that7 踢 ‘kick’, kiu2 球 ‘ball’, in (14) moves from the outside where the speaker is to the inside of the hole. (13) 慢慢 行 入來 ban5-2~ban5 kiã2 liǝp0lai0 slow~slow walk come.into ‘slowly walk in’ (14) 球 踢 入去 kiu2 that7 liǝp0khɯ0 ball kick go.into ‘kick the ball into (the hole)’ Tshut7lai0 出來 ‘come out’ indicates that a person or thing such as kue1 雞 ‘chicken’ (the agent of tsau3 走 ‘run’) in (15) moves out of the place where it is originally located to the place where the speaker is. Tshut7khɯ0 出去 ‘go out’ in (16) indicates that the addressee (the omitted agent in this imperative) with the patient of puã1 搬 ‘move’ (tsit7-8tǝ5-3 toʔ7 即垛桌 ‘this table’) moves out of the place where the speaker is. (15) 雞 家 走 出來 kue1 kai5-4 tsau3 tshut0lai0 chicken self run come.out ‘The chicken ran out by itself.’ (16) 即垛 桌 搬 出去 tsit7-8-tǝ5-3 toʔ7 puã1 tshut0khɯ0 this-CL table move go.out ‘Move this table out.’
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Kǝ5lai0 過來 ‘come over’ indicates a person or thing such as the agent of thiau5 跳 ‘jump’ in (17) moving to the place where the speaker is. Kǝ5khɯ0 過去 ‘go over’ in (18) indicates that both the omitted agent and the patient of puã1 ‘move’ move from the place where the speaker is to somewhere else. (17) 跳 過來 thiau5 kǝ0lai0 jump come.over ‘jump over here’ (18) 搬 過去 1 puã kǝ0khɯ0 move go.over ‘move (it) over there’ To5lai0 倒來 ‘come back’ is used to indicate that a person or thing moves to the original/starting place where the speaker is, as in (19) where both the omitted agent and patient of tua5 帶 ‘bring’ move from somewhere else back home, which is usually regarded as the original starting point and, furthermore, the speaker is understood to be at home at the time of speech, given the context. As illustrated by (20), to5khɯ0 倒去 ‘go back’ indicates that a person or thing moves from the place where the speaker is to the original starting place. (19) 帶 倒來 tua5 to0lai0 bring come.back ‘bring (it) back’ (20) 伊 斡 倒去 i1 uat7 to0khɯ0 3SG return go.back ‘He has gone back.’
咯 lɔ0 SFP
Lai2-4khɯ5 來去 ‘go’ presents an unusual case in being formed by the lexemes lai2 ‘come’ and khɯ5 ‘go’, yet it only has the meaning of khɯ5, i.e. the meaning of lai2 is lost. An example is given in (21).
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(21) 㑑 過 來去 lan3 kǝ5 lai0khɯ0 1PL pass go ‘Let’s go over there.’
10.2.2 Relative order of verb, complement and object In daily conversation, the non-locative object tends to occur before the verb functioning as a topic, as in (4) – (7) above, or be covert, as in (18) and (19). In other words, the whole construction tends to take the form of (O)VC. One more example is given in (22) below, where the patient toʔ7 桌 ‘table’ can be covert or occur before the verb phrase koʔ7-8 bǝ5-4 saŋ5 lai0 佫未送來 ‘not yet send here’. (22) (桌) 佫 未 送 來 7 7-8 5-4 5 koʔ bǝ saŋ lai0 (toʔ ) (table) still not.yet send come ‘(The table) has not yet arrived.’ (lit. ‘(the table) has not yet been sent here’) When the object of an action is encoded by a quantitative expression and noun, the noun is usually placed before the verb functioning as a topic or omitted, while the quantitative expression occurs between the verb and its directional complement functioning as a quantitative object (i.e. ‘(O) + V + Quantitative + C’). An example is given in (23). (23) (湯匙) 攑 (蜀) (thŋ1si2) kia2 (tsit8-4) (spoon) take (one) ‘give (me) one (spoon)’
叢 來 tsaŋ2-4 lai2 CL come
In (23), the patient thŋ1si2 ‘spoon’ can be omitted, or occur before the verb kia2 ‘take’ functioning as a topic, whereas the quantitative expression (tsit8-4) tsaŋ2 (蜀) 叢 ‘one CL’ is inserted between the verb kia2 and its directional complement lai2. The non-locative object can also be placed between the verb and its directional complement (i.e. VOC), as illustrated by (24) and (25), though this is comparatively less common in daily conversation.
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(24) 送 張 批 去 saŋ5-3 tiũ1 phue1 khɯ5 send CL letter go ‘send over a letter’ (25) 搬 沙 入來 puã1 sua1 liǝp8lai0 move sand come.into ‘move the sand inside here’ The noun phrase tiũ1 phue1 ‘a letter’ in (24) occurs between the verb saŋ5 ‘send’ and its directional complement khɯ5. Similarly, the noun sua1 ‘sand’ in (25) is placed between the verb puã1 and its directional complement liǝp8lai0. In Quanzhou, the indefinite non-locative object can be placed after the verb complement construction (i.e. VCOINDEF) (Li 1997:132). In Hui’an, however, such an order is typically found via elicitation, as in (26). (26) 洞咧 串 出來 蜀 隻 虎 tɔŋ5-leʔ0 tshŋ5-3 tshut7-8lai2-4 tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7-8 hɔ3 cave-LOC emerge come.out one CL tiger ‘A tiger emerged from the cave.’ In (26), the indefinite object tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7-8 hɔ3 ‘one tiger’ is preceded by the directional complement tshut7-8lai2. Note that this order is also not reported as possible in Taiwan Southern Min (cf. Lien 1992:388-389). The locative object in Hui’an can either be placed after the directional complement (VCNLOC), as in (27a), or inserted between the verb and its directional complement (VNLOCC), as in (27b). (27) a. 攑 來 搭 kia2 lai2-4 taʔ7 take come here ‘take (it) here’ b. 攑 搭 來 2 7-8 kia taʔ lai2 take here come ‘take (it) here’
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The locative word taʔ7 ‘here’ occurs after the complement lai2 來 in (27a), while in (27b) it is placed between the verb kia2 ‘take’ and its directional complement lai2. This is different from both Quanzhou and Taiwan, where the locative object is only placed after the directional verb complement construction (i.e. VCNLOC) (Lien 1992:388-389; Li 1997:132-133). The order of verb, directional complement and object in Hui’an is summarized in Table 10-2. Tab. 10-2: Order of verb, directional complement and object in the Hui’an dialect
Type of object
Order of verb, directional complement and object
Non-locative object
(O)VC (O=topic) (O) + V + Quantitative + C (O=topic) V+O+C VCOINDEF
Locative object
VCNLOC VNLOCC
10.2.3 Negative forms The directional verb complement construction can be negated by adding a negative adverb such as bo2 無 ‘not have’, m5 呣 ‘not’, bǝ5 未 ‘not yet’ and m5-4 ai5 呣愛 ‘do not like’. The negative adverbs usually occur before the directional verb complement construction (i.e. NEG V1-V2DIR). Take bo2 無 and m5 呣 ‘not’ as examples. (28) 迄領 衫 無 穿 倒來 7-8 3-2 1 2-4 5 sã bo tshiŋ to0lai0 hit -liã that-CL clothes not.have wear come.back ‘(You) didn’t come back wearing those clothes.’ 倒去 (29) 伊 呣 斡 i1 m5-4 uat7 to0khɯ0 3SG not return go.back ‘He won’t go back.’ (He is unwilling to return.) (28) is an example of bo2 preceding the directional verb complement construction tshiŋ5 to0lai0 ‘come back wearing (that piece of clothes)’, while (29) is an example
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of m5 negating the directional verb complement construction uat7 to0khɯ0 ‘go back’.
10.2.4 Other functions The directional complements may be extended to function as resultative or phase complements (see §10.3 and 10.4). Besides these, the directional complement khi3khɯ0 起去 ‘go up’ can denote a movement from a lower place to a higher place in which the ‘place’ does not refer to a spatial place, but to an abstract position or rank, as in (30). (30) 即幾個 升 起去 tsit7-8-kui3-2-e2 siŋ1 khi3khɯ0 this-several-CL rise go.up ‘These few (people) got to a higher position (in the company).’ Both loʔ8lai0 落來 ‘come down’ and loʔ8khɯ0 落去 ‘go down’ can be extended to function as temporal words meaning ‘in the future’ when preceded by the adverb koʔ7 佫 ‘again’, as in (31). (31) 佫 落來/落去 工作 否 loʔ8lai0/ loʔ8khɯ0 kaŋ1tsɔk7 phai3-2 koʔ7 again come.down/go.down job difficult ‘It will be difficult to find a job in the future.’
(扌罪) tshǝ5 look.for
10.3 Resultative verb complement constructions: V1-V2RES Resultative verb complement constructions refer to the constructions formed by a verb and a resultative complement which indicates a result of the action encoded by the verb, with the structure of ‘V1-V2RES’, as exemplified by (32), where the adjective theʔ7 澈 ‘finished’ follows the action verb tsiaʔ8 食 ‘eat’ to indicate a result of the action of eating. (32) 食 澈 tsiaʔ8-4 theʔ7 eat finished ‘eat (it) up’
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10.3.1 Resultative complements As shown by example (32) above, the adjective theʔ7 ‘finished’ can follow an action verb functioning as a resultative complement. Other adjectives which can function as a resultative complement include ho3 好 ‘good’, pa3 飽 ‘full’, tiau2 牢 ‘firm’ and tshiŋ1tshɔ3 清楚 ‘clear’ (see §10.3.1.1). Resultative complements can also be encoded by the following three types of words: (a) directional verbs in an extended use, e.g. lai2 來 ‘come’, khɯ5 去 ‘go’, khi3lai0 起來 ‘come up’, kǝ5lai0 過來 ‘come over’ and loʔ8lai0 落來 ‘come down’ (§10.3.1.2); (b) the existential verb u4 有 ‘have’ and its negative form bo2 無 ‘not have’ (§10.3.1.3); and (c) other verbs, such as liau3 了‘finish’ and sak7 捒 ‘push’ (§10.3.1.4). Note that, when functioning as a resultative complement, directional verbs such as lai2 no longer have a literal directional meaning, and their resultative meanings may vary with different types of verb they follow (see §10.3.1.2 for more details). 10.3.1.1 Adjectives Take ho3 ‘good’, pa3 ‘full’ and tshiŋ1tshɔ3 ‘clear’ as examples. The resultative complement ho3 can be used to express that something is done well, as in (33), or an action has achieved a result which implies that the action has been finished, as in (34). (33) 做 好 活 tsue5-3 ho3-2 ue5 do good Work ‘do a good job’ (34) 阮 說 好 咯 gun3 sǝʔ7-8 ho3 lɔ0 1PL say good SFP ‘We have made a deal.’ In (33), ho3 means that the work is well done. In (34), ho3 indicates that the discussion has achieved a result, that is, the people involved in the discussion reach an agreement, which also suggests that the discussion has been finished. The following is an example of pa3 ‘full’ which usually follows the verb tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’ to indicate the result of the action tsiaʔ8, i.e. the agent has a full stomach.
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(35) 我 食 飽 gua3 tsiaʔ8-4 pa3 1SG eat full ‘I am full.’
咯 lɔ0 SFP
Use of tshiŋ1tshɔ3 ‘clear’ as a resultative complement is exemplified by (36), where tshiŋ1tshɔ3 means that some matter gets cleared up after the discussion. (36) 等 𪜶 說 清楚 tan3-2 en1 sǝʔ7-8 tshiŋ1tshɔ3 wait 3PL say clear ‘Wait for them to make (it) clear.’ 10.3.1.2 Directional verbs When functioning as a resultative complement, the directional verb lai2 ‘come’ does not keep its literal directional meaning, but means that something is got or obtained, as in (37), where lai0 indicates that something is obtained due to a blood donation. (37) 口 是 伊 獻血 換 來 2 4 1 5-3 7 5 tse si i hen -huiʔ uã lai0 this be 3SG donate-blood change RVC ‘She got this due to a blood donation.’
其 e0 SFP
In the following exampe, khɯ5 去 functions as a resultative complement indicating that something moves away or disappears from its original place, i.e. something is eaten, which is a result of the action tsiaʔ8 食 ‘eat’. (38) 伊 食 去 tsiaʔ8 khɯ0 i1 3SG eat RVC ‘He ate (it).’ Use of kǝ5lai0 過來 ‘come over’ and loʔ8lai0 落來 ‘come down’ as a resultative complement can be illustrated by (39) and (40), where kǝ0lai0 in (39) indicates the result of pen5 變 ‘change’, that is, something returns to its original state, and loʔ0lai0 in (40) indicates the result of tshiǝm1 簽 ‘sign’, i.e. something gets signed.
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(39) 變 過來 pen5 kǝ0lai0 change RVC ‘go back to the original state’ (40) 簽 落來 tshiǝm1 loʔ0lai0 sign RVC ‘get the agreement signed’ As a resultative complement, khai, i.e. the reduced form of khi3lai0 起來, can be used in the context of the meanings ‘separation, get rid of’, as in (41) and (42). (41) 衫 褪 (起來) sã1 thŋ5 khai0 clothes take.off RVC ‘Take off that piece of clothing.’ (42) 食 (起來) 8 tsiaʔ khai0 eat RVC ‘eat up’ In (41), a piece of clothing is separated from its original place, i.e. the person who wears it. In (42), the food is separated from its original place, i.e. a dish or bowl. In example (43) below, the resultative complement khai means ‘together’, i.e. the originally separated parts of a book are brought together by the action hap8 合 ‘close’. (43) 合 (起來) hap8 khai0 close RVC ‘close (the book)’ The resultative complement khai can also be used in the context of ‘gather up’, ‘hide’ and ‘take out’, as illustrated by (44) – (46).
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(44) 衫褲 共 伊 收 (起來) sã1khɔ5 ka5-4 i1 siu1 khai0 clothes OM 3SG tidy.up RVC ‘gather up the clothes’ (45) 覕 (起來) biʔ7 khai0 hide RVC ‘go into hiding’ (46) 攑 口 (起來) 泡 2-4 8 kia hat khai4 phau5 take that RVC brew ‘take that out to make tea’ In (44), khai0 following the verb siu1 ‘tidy’ indicates that the clothes are gathered up and put into the closet. In (45), khai0 follows the verb biʔ7 ‘hide’ and indicates that someone hides him/herself from other people. In (46), a teapot which is kept in some place and has not been used for a long period is taken out for use again. Note that khai4 in (46) adopts the sandhi tone of its second component, lai2 ‘come’, rather than a neutral tone as in (44) and (45), since it is separated from its preceding verb kia2 ‘take’ and followed by another verb phau5 ‘brew’. 10.3.1.3 u4 ‘have’ and bo2 ‘not have’ The existential and possessive verb u4 有 ‘have’ and its negative form bo2 無 ‘not have’ can be preceded by an action verb to express that a person or thing is obtained, as in (47), or lost, as in (48). (47) (扌罪) 有 工作 tshǝ5-4 u4 kaŋ1tsɔk7 look.for have job ‘have found a job’ (48) 喙齒 落 無 tshui5-3-khi3 lau5-3 bo2 mouth-tooth fall not.have ‘The teeth fall out.’
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The context for (47) is of someone looking for a job, and the result of his action is that he gets a job. Thus, u4 indicates that the patient of tshǝ5 (i.e. kaŋ1tsɔk7 ‘job’) is obtained. The patient kaŋ1tsɔk7 can also be topicalized as in kaŋ1tsɔk7 tshǝ5-4 u4 (see chapter 20 for details of topics). In (48), lau5 is an intransitive verb, and the resultative complement bo2 means that the theme, tshui5-3khi3 ‘teeth’, falls out. A noun (phrase) can also follow the resultative complement bo2, as in (49) and (50). (49) (扌罪) 無 頭路 tshǝ5-4 bo2-4 thau2-4lɔ5 look.for not.have job ‘do not find a job’ (50) 讀 無 冊 thak8-4 bo2-4 tsheʔ7 study not.have book ‘do not study well’ (lit. ‘read/study not have book’) In (49), tshǝ5-4 bo2-4 thau2-4lɔ5 ‘do not find a job’ denotes the particular result of looking for a job, namely that the goal of looking for a job is not achieved. In (50), thak8-4 bo2-4 tsheʔ7 ‘do not study well’ indicates that the goal of studying is not achieved.4 Example (50) differs from (49) in that thak8-4 bo2-4 tsheʔ7 is more like an idiom than tshǝ5-4 bo2-4 thau2-4lɔ5: thak8-4 bo2-4 tsheʔ7 literally means ‘study not have book’, and is based on a separable verb compound, thak8-4tsheʔ7 ‘to study’, but is used to express that someone does not study well. There also exists a related expression to describe someone who does not study well, i.e. thak8-4 a5-3 bo2-4 tsheʔ7 aŋ1 thak8 讀遘無冊嗵讀 in which bo2-4 tsheʔ7 aŋ1 thak8 (lit. ‘not have book can study’) functions as a manner complement of the verb thak8 ‘study’ (see §10.5 for details of manner complement). To our knowledge, the verb meaning ‘(not) have’ functioning as a resultative complement is probably a distinctive usage of the Min branch.
|| 4 Huang (2007) distinguishes these two uses of bo2 in (49) and (50) and regards them as a presuppositional negative marker and a non-presuppositional negative marker, respectively. Huang (2007:163) points out that the constructions in which these two kinds of negative markers bo2 occur have an episode reading and a generic reading, respectively: the episode reading ‘expresses the lack of a desired result’ and the generic reading ‘is taken as an association with a potential property’.
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10.3.1.4 liau3 ‘finish’ and sak7 ‘push’ The resultative complement liau3 了, originally a verb meaning ‘finish’, follows a verb denoting a process to indicate the completion of the process, as in (51a), or the total affectedness of the object in the process, as in (51b) and (52). (51) 拄拄 則 食 了 tu3-2~tu3 tsiaʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8-4 liau3 just~just just eat finish (a) ‘(We) just finished eating.’ (b) ‘(Everything) has just been eaten up.’ (52) 懷 創 了 咯 huai2 tshɔŋ5-3 liau3 lɔ0 those do finish SFP ‘Those (rooms) have been decorated.’ In (51), tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’ is an activity verb denoting a process situation, and tsiaʔ8-4 liau3 may mean that the process of eating is just finished as shown by the interpretation (a), or that what we were eating has just been eaten up as in (b), depending on the context and the speaker’s focus. In other words, the resultative complement liau3 in (51) indicates the completion of the process itself or the total exhaustion of the object of a process. In (52), the verb tshɔŋ5 ‘do’ is used to refer to the decoration process; the resultative complement liau3 not only indicates that the process of decoration is finished, but also indicates that all the rooms have been decorated, that is, the total affectedness of the object of the decoration process. Note that both (51) and (52) can be transformed into a potential verb complement construction V1-E/BUE-V2 (see §10.8 below), which in turn proves that liau3 here functions as a resultative complement. The resultative complement sak7 捒, originally a verb meaning ‘push’, usually follows a transitive verb to indicate that the patient of an action is removed or lost, as in (53) and (54). (53) 即張 紙 摑 捒 tsit7-8-tiũ1 tsua3 kɔk8-4 sak7 this-CL paper throw RVC ‘Throw away this piece of paper.’
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(54) 我 關 捒 gua3 kuin1 sak7 1SG close RVC ‘I turn off (the light).’ In (53), the patient tsit7-8tiũ1 tsua3 ‘this piece of paper’ is thrown away. In (54), the omitted patient tiŋ1 ‘light’ is turned off. The verb sak7 ‘push’ semantically implies that something is moved and ends up being away from its original place, which enables it to be used after another verb to express that something is removed.
10.3.2 Relative order of verb, complement and object In daily conversation, the object is usually omitted, or placed before the resultative verb complement construction functioning as a topic (i.e. (O)VC, O=topic). However, patient objects can also follow the [verb + resultative complement] complex when the resultative complement is encoded by khɯ5 去 ‘go’, u4 有 ‘have’, bo2 無 ‘not have’ and ho3 好 ‘good’ (i.e. VCO). Take bo2 as an example. (55) (扌罪) 無 鎖匙 bo2-4 so3-2si2 tshǝ5-4 look.for not.have key ‘(He) cannot find the key.’ In (55), the patient so3-2si2 ‘key’ is preceded by the resultative verb complement construction tshǝ5-4 bo2 which can be translated as ‘not found’. The following example shows that the patient object (tsiu3 酒 ‘alcohol’) can be inserted between the verb (liǝm1 啉 ‘drink’) and the resultative complement (tsui5 醉 ‘drunk’) (i.e. VOC), though it acts like a fixed phrase. (56) 啉 酒 醉 1 3-2 tsui5 liǝm tsiu drink alcohol drunk ‘get drunk’ The order of verb, resultative complement and object in Hui’an is summarized in Table 10-3.
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Tab. 10-3: Order of verb, resultative complement and object in the Hui’an dialect
(O)VC
O=topic
VCO
C=khɯ5 ‘move away, disappear’ (lit. ‘go’), u4 ‘have’, bo2 ‘not have’ , ho3 ‘good’ O=patient
VOC
O=patient Fixed phrases
10.3.3 Negative forms The resultative verb complement constructions can be negated by a negative adverb such as bo2 ‘not have’, bǝ5 ‘not yet’ and bue4 ‘cannot’, which can be inserted between the verb and the complement (i.e. V NEG C), as in (57a) and (58a), or before the verb complement construction (i.e. NEG VC), as in (57b) and (58b). An exception is the construction with u4 ‘have’ as a resultative complement, whose negative form is the construction with bo2 ‘not have’ as its counterpart resultative complement (see §10.3.1.3). (57) a. V NEG C 食 無 飽 tsiaʔ8-4 bo2-4 pa3 eat not.have full ‘have not eaten one’s fill’ (or: have not eaten enough) b. NEG VC 無 食 飽 bo2-4 tsiaʔ8-4 pa3 not.have eat full ‘have not eaten one’s fill’ (or: have not eaten enough) (58) a. V NEG C 食 未 飽 tsiaʔ8-4 bǝ5-4 pa3 eat not.yet full ‘have not yet eaten one’s fill’
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b. NEG VC 未 食 飽 bǝ5-4 tsiaʔ8-4 pa3 not.yet eat full ‘have not yet eaten one’s fill’ In (57) and (58), the two constructions with the negative adverb in different positions basically mean the same thing, except that the scope of negation is different. For example, in (57), bo2 in tsiaʔ8-4 bo2-4 pa3 negates the complement pa3, whereas bo2 in bo2-4 tsiaʔ8-4 pa3 negates the whole verb complement construction tsiaʔ8-4 pa3. However, both tsiaʔ8-4 bo2-4 pa3 and bo2-4 tsiaʔ8-4 pa3 are used to describe someone who has not yet eaten sufficiently/to the full. The resultative verb complement construction becomes a potential verb complement construction when negated by the negative adverb bue4 ‘cannot’ (see §10.8).
10.4 Verb-phase complement constructions: V1-V2PHA Verb-phase complement constructions are formed by a verb and its phase complement which indicates the achievement of an action or a state, with the structure of ‘V1-V2PHA’. The term ‘phase complement’ was first introduced by Chao (1968:446) who suggested that ‘There are a few complements which express the phase of an action in the first verb rather than some result in the action or goal’. An example of a Mandarin phase complement dào 到 < ‘arrive at, reach’ has been given in (1c) above. The following is an example of Mandarin phase complement zháo 著 < ‘hit the mark’. (59) 貓 逮 著 個 耗子 māo dăi zháo gè hào-zi cat catch PVC CL mouse-NM ‘The cat has caught [hold of] a rat.’ (Chao 1968:447) Phase complements in Hui’an mainly involve tioʔ8 著 ‘get’ and khɯ5 去 ‘go’. An example of tioʔ8 is given in (60), where tioʔ0 indicates that the action of seeing something is achieved.
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(60) 阮 無 看 著 gun3 bo2-4 khuã5 tioʔ0 1PL not.have look PVC ‘I didn’t see (it).’ Not all verbs or verb phrases can be followed by the phase complement tioʔ8. Lien (2001:178) points out that, in Taiwan, the phase complement tioh8 著 still retains a trace of its spatial sense, since the verbs that take tioh8 as their complement must denote contact such as boe2 買 ‘buy’ and liah4 掠 ‘catch’, but not detachment such as boe7 賣 ‘sell’ and pang3 放 ‘set free’, which also applies to tioʔ8 in Hui’an. Another point to be noted is that in Taiwan, only when the complement tioh8 is immediately preceded by the verb and followed by a pause can it bear an unstressed tone (Lien 2001:180), whereas the phase complement tioʔ8 in Hui’an is subject to a different set of conditions. First, it is always in a neutral tone when it is immediately preceded by the verb or followed by a sentence-final particle such as lɔ0, as in (61a), or a quantitative phrase, as in (61b) and (61c). (61) a. V+ tioʔ0 + SFP 看 著 咯 khuã5 tioʔ0 lɔ0 look PVC SFP ‘have seen (it)’ b. V+ tioʔ0 + quantitative phrase 看 著 蜀 個 khuã5 tioʔ0 tsit8-4 e2 look PVC one CL ‘see one’ c. V+ tioʔ0 + quantitative phrase 看 著 蜀 擺 khuã5 tioʔ0 tsit8-4 pai3 look PVC one time ‘see (it) once’ Second, the following two examples illustrate that the phase complement tioʔ8 cannot be in a neutral tone when separated from its preceding verb by other elements such as the negation word bue4 ‘cannot’ as in (62a), or followed by a non-
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quantitative phrase object such as tsit8-4 e2-4 laŋ2 ‘a person’ as in (62b), where tsit8 acts as an indefinite article and not as the numeral ‘one’. (62) a. V + bue4 ‘cannot’ + tioʔ8 看 𣍐 著 khuã5-3 bue4 tioʔ8 look cannot PVC ‘cannot see (it)’ b. V + tioʔ8 + non-quantitative phrase object 看 著 蜀 個 儂 5-3 8-4 8-4 khuã tioʔ tsit e2-4 laŋ2 look PVC one CL person ‘see a person’ The difference in tonal values between Taiwan Southern Min for the phase complement tioʔ8 as described by Lien (2001) and the Hui’an dialect can be shown as follows. (i) Taiwan: Verb + tioh0 + pause (ii) Hui’an: Verb + tioʔ0 + pause/SFP/quantitative phrase Verb + bue4 + tioʔ8 Verb + tioʔ8 + non-quantitative phrase Another phase complement khɯ5 can be illustrated by (63), where khɯ0 follows the adjective kuã2 寒 ‘cold’ and denotes entering the new state of ‘being cold’, and (64), where khɯ0 follows the resultative verb complement construction lau5-3 bo2 落無 ‘fall out’ to indicate entering a new state, i.e. having no teeth. (63) 會 寒 去 kuã2 khɯ0 e4 Would cold PVC ‘(You) would get cold.’ 去 (64) 喙齒 計 落 無 tshui5-3-khi3 ke5-3 lau5-3 bo2 khɯ0 mouth-tooth all fall not.have PVC ‘All (his) teeth have fallen out.’
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The phase complement khɯ5 is typically used together with predicates that have a negative meaning or indicate something unexpected, which is determined by the semantic feature of khɯ5 ‘go’, indicating that something moves away or disappears. A similar phenomenon can also be found in Quanzhou (Li 1996b:198). In addition, the phase complement khɯ5 is normally in a neutral tone as in (63) and (64) above.
10.5 Verb-manner complement constructions: V-CM-C A manner complement describes the manner of the action expressed by the verb (Lamarre 2001:85), but may also describe the state of a property, or the state of the person/thing involved in an action. Unlike directional, resultative and phase complements, manner complements cannot directly follow the verb, but require a complement marker such as a5 遘 and leʔ7 得. In other words, the verb-manner complement construction takes the form of ‘V+CM+C’, as illustrated by (65) below. (65) 發 遘 無 閑 huat7 a5-3 bo2-4 uin2 send CM not.have leisure ‘so busy with sending (messages)’ In (65), bo2-4 uin2 ‘have no time’ functions as a manner complement of the action verb huat7 ‘send (messages)’ describing the state of the action huat7, and has its complement marker a5 inserted between the verb huat7 and the complement bo2-4 uin2. These are next described in more detail.
10.5.1 With the complement marker a5 遘 In this type of verb-manner complement construction, the verb can be a dynamic one, as in (65) above, or a stative one, as in (66) below. (66) 烏 遘 齪齪 ɔ1 a5-3 tsak7-8~tsak7 black CM bored~bored ‘rather black’ In (66), the stative adjective tsak7-8tsak7 follows the qualitative adjective ɔ1 ‘black’ functioning as a manner complement to indicate a state of the property ɔ1 ‘black’.
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With the complement marker a5, a range of manner complements is possible. Besides a stative adjective as in (66) above, the complement can be a verb phrase such as tshun4 hit7-8tiǝm3-2a3 ‘remain so few’ in (67), or a clause such as kha1 sŋ1 骹 酸 ‘(my) feet are sore’ in (68). (67) 尾頭 挽 遘 口 迄點仔 bǝ3thau0 ban3 a5-3 tshun4 hit7-8-tiǝm3-2a3 back pluck CM remain that-few ‘(The eyebrows) have been pulled out and only a bit is left at the back.’ (68) 輦 遘 骹 酸 3 5-3 1 len a kha sŋ1 stroll CM foot Sore ‘(I) strolled about and (now my) feet are sore.’ The complement marker a5 is probably derived from the verb kau5 遘 ‘arrive’ (involving phonological reduction). This complement marker is normally not pronounced as kau5 (the pronunciation of its use as a verb) in the contemporary Hui’an dialect. However, we find examples in our data where the pronunciation is ka5 (rather than a5), which is typically used by the elder generation. A similar phenomenon is noted by Li (2007b:164), who points out that in Southern Min, such as Xiamen, the complement marker derived from the verb kau21 遘 ‘arrive’ is pronounced either in its sandhi tone (i.e. kau53) or as a short tone (i.e. ka5), and sometimes reduced to a5. Kau ‘arrive’ functioning as a complement marker is also found in other Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou, Zhangping 漳平, Shantou 汕頭 and Tunchang 屯昌 (cf. Chen 1992, Zhang 1992:16, Shi 1996c:158, Qian 2002:148, among others), and also in Eastern Min such as those of Fuzhou and Fuqing (Chen 2001:62, Feng 1993:130). Use of the verb meaning ‘arrive’ as a complement marker is also common in other branches of Chinese such as Yue, Hakka, Gan and Pinghua (Wu 2001:348). Details of the grammaticalization of the ‘arrive’ verb as a complement marker can be found in previous works such as Liu (2006).
10.5.2 With the complement marker leʔ7 得 This type is much less used than that with the complement marker a5 in the preceding section. When used with leʔ7 得, the verb is usually an action verb, and the complement is usually a stative adjective phrase formed by a degree adverb and
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an adjective, such as ban2-4 ken3 蠻緊 ‘rather fast’ in (69), where ban2-4 ken3 indicates a state of the action peʔ7 ‘climb’. (69) (足百) 得 peʔ7 leʔ7-8 climb CM ‘climb so fast’
蠻 緊 ban2-4 ken3 rather fast
The complement can also indicate a state of the agent or patient of an action as in (70) and (71), respectively, where ban2-4 sen1khɔ3 蠻辛苦 in (70) describes a state of the omitted agent (i.e. i1 伊 ‘he’) of kǝ5 過 ‘live’, and ban2-4tsue5 蠻儕 in (71) describes a state of the omitted patient noun (i.e. the dish/food) of tsiaʔ8 食 ‘eat’. (70) 過 得 蠻 辛苦 kǝ5 leʔ7-8 ban2-4 sen1khɔ3 pass CM rather hard ‘(He) lived a hard life.’ (71) 食 得 蠻儕 8 7-8 tsiaʔ leʔ ban2-4tsue5 eat CM many ‘eat a lot’ The manner complement marker leʔ7 得 here is probably derived from the ‘get’ verb tet7 得 (see §10.8 for more details). This usage of leʔ7 is not reported in other related Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou, Xiamen and Shantou (cf. Li 2007b; Shi 1996c). However, a similar morpheme is found in the Fuzhou and Fuqing varieties of Eastern Min (Chen 2001:63-64, Feng 1993:23): the morpheme le31 in Fuzhou and le0 咧 in Fuqing can both function as a manner complement marker. In fact, Chen (2001) suggests that the Fuzhou marker, le31, may be derived from the ‘get’ verb. The ‘get’ verb functioning as a manner complement marker is not uncommon in Chinese, e.g. it is widely used in Mandarin Chinese (cf. Zhu 1982, among others).
10.6 Verb-extent complement constructions: V-a5-C; V-si3/a3 Strictly speaking, extent can also be regarded as a kind of state, and some verbmanner complement constructions also imply the extent of an action or a state, especially when the manner complement describes an extreme state, as in (72),
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where boʔ7-8 si3 卜死 ‘up to death’ can be regarded as a complement describing an extreme state for the extent of the pain. (72) 痛 遘 卜 死 thiã5 a5-3 boʔ7-8 si3 painful CM want die ‘(It is) so painful (I) could die.’ In the following, we would like to focus on verb-extent complement constructions in which the extent complement directly follows a verb (i.e. without a complement marker) and is typically encoded by the verb si3 死 ‘die’ or by a3 遘 (derived from the complement marker a5), i.e. with a structure of ‘V + si3/a3’. The extent complement si3 usually follows a stative verb such as kiã1 驚 ‘be scared’ in (73) and a1tsam1 醃臢 ‘dirty’ in (74). (73) 驚 死 si3 kiã1 be.scared die ‘so scared’ (74) 醃臢 死 a1tsam1 si3 dirty die ‘so dirty’ The following example shows that si3 can also be preceded by an action verb, but the preference is for it to occur in the [V1+si3+V1+bo2-4 biã5] complex, which is widely used to indicate an extent. (75) 走 死 走 無 命 tsau3-2 si3 tsau3-2 bo2-4 biã5 run die run not.have life ‘run like mad’ Two examples of the extent complement a3 遘 are given in (76) and (77).
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(76) 紅 遘 aŋ2 a3 red EVC ‘very red’ 遘 (77) 緊 遘 驚儂 ken3 a5-3 kiã1laŋ2-4 a3 fast CM frightened EVC ‘so fast as to make people very scared’ In (76), a3 (with the sandhi tone of a5) follows the adjective aŋ2 ‘red’ and functions as an extent complement which indicates the extent of being red. In (77), we have an example of an extent complement embedded under a manner complement: a3 (the second 遘) forms a verb-extent complement construction kiã1laŋ2-4 a3 ‘very scared’, denoting the extent to which one can be scared. This extent complement phrase then forms a larger manner complement with the adjective ken3 ‘fast’, being joined to it by a5 (the first 遘) . The use of a3 here can be regarded as being derived from the complement marker a5 as in (72) above, when the complement such as boʔ7-8 si3 ‘up to death’ in (72) has been deleted. In other words, the extent complement a3 can be regarded as a substitute of an originally longer and complete form [complement marker a5 + manner complement]. Thus, the extent complement a3 in Hui’an is usually pronounced with stress and longer duration. The ‘arrive’ verb used as a bare extent complement, that is, without the following intensifier phrase, is also attested in some other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen, Quanzhou, Yongchun and Taiwan (Zhou and Ouyang 1998:393, Chen 1992:182, Lin 1995:458, Lu 2003:90). A similar phenomenon is also found in Mandarin Chinese where the complement marker de 得 can be used alone as in bǎ wǒ lèi de 把我累得 ‘(it) makes me so tired’ in which the original complement marker de 得 is preceded by the verb lèi ‘tired’ but not followed by any other elements. Lü (1999:164) also mentions this use of de 得 where he points out that de is preceded by a verb or an adjective with an omission of what follows de, indicating a state of affairs that one cannot describe.
10.7 Verb-quantitative complement constructions: VQuantitative expression Verb-quantitative complement constructions are formed by a verb and a following quantitative complement which is encoded by a quantitative expression indicating the frequency or duration of an action, as in (78) and (79) respectively, or
Verb-quantitative complement constructions: V-Quantitative expression | 205
indicating the quantity of the patient of an action, as in (80). As illustrated by these examples, the whole construction takes the form of ‘V + Quantitative expression’. (78) 說 蜀 擺 sǝʔ7 tsit8-4 pai3 say one time ‘say once’ (79) 行 蜀 點鐘 kiã2 tsit8-4 tiǝm3-2tsiŋ1 walk one hour ‘walk for one hour’ (80) 搬 遘 蠻儕 1 puã a5-3 ban2-4tsue5 move CM many ‘move a lot of (things)’ The complement tsit8-4 pai3 ‘once’ in (78), consisting of the numeral tsit8 ‘one’ and the verbal classifier pai3 ‘time’, indicates the frequency of the action sǝʔ7 ‘say’, while the complement tsit8-4 tiǝm3-2tsiŋ1 ‘one hour’ in (79) indicates the duration of the action kiã2 ‘walk’. In (80), the complement ban2-4tsue5 ‘many, a lot of’ denotes the quantity of the patient of the action puã1 ‘move’. This example also shows that the complement marker a5 遘 as mentioned in §10.5.1 may be inserted between the verb (e.g. puã1 ‘move’) and its quantitative complement (e.g. ban2-4tsue5 ‘many, a lot of’). In the following example, a5 遘 is placed between the verb kiã2 行 ‘walk’ and its quantitative complement sã1 tiǝm3-2tsiŋ1 三點鐘 ‘three hours’ indicating the duration of walking. (81) 行 遘 三 點鐘 kiã2 a5-3 sã1 tiǝm3-2tsiŋ1 walk CM three hour ‘walk for three hours’
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10.8 Potential verb complement constructions: V-e4/bue4-C; V-leʔ7-C; e4/bue4 -V- leʔ7- C Potential verb complement constructions refer to constructions formed by a verb and its potential complement indicating the possibility of an event. The potential verb complement constructions in Mandarin Chinese use the complement marker de 得 < ‘get; able’ to connect the verb and the complement, as in (82), where de is inserted between the verb xiě 寫 ‘write’ and its complement wán 完 ‘finished’ to express the possibility of finishing writing something. (82) Potential verb complement construction in Mandarin Chinese 寫 得 完 xiě de wán write CM finish ‘can finish writing (it)’ In Hui’an, however, potential verb complement constructions typically use the auxiliary verb e4 會 ‘can’ and its negative form bue4 𣍐 ‘cannot’, which are inserted between the verb and its directional/resultative complement to change directional/resultative verb complement constructions into potential verb complement constructions (i.e. V + e4/bue4+ C), as illustrated by (83) and (84). (83) 講 會 清楚 3-2 e4 tshiŋ1tshɔ3 kaŋ say can clear ‘can make (it) clear’ (84) 摕 𣍐 出來 thueʔ8-4 bue4 tshut7lai0 take cannot come.out ‘cannot get (it) out’ In (83), e4 is placed between the action verb kaŋ3 ‘speak’ and its resultative complement tshiŋ1tshɔ3 ‘clear’ to mean that something can be made clear. In (84), bue4 is inserted between the action verb thueʔ8 ‘take’ and its directional complement tshut7lai0 ‘come out’ to indicate that the action of ‘getting something out’ cannot be achieved. Note that the negative bue4 is more widely used than the positive e4. Verb-quantitative complement constructions can be changed into potential verb complement constructions by inserting the complement marker leʔ7 得 (i.e.
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V + leʔ7 得 + quantitative expression), as illustrated by (85). Note, however, that this usage is not very common in daily conversation. (85) 囥 得 三 四 十 日 khŋ5 leʔ7-8 sã1 si5-3 tsap8-4 let8 store CM three four ten day ‘(It) can be stored for thirty or forty days.’ The auxiliary verbs e4 and bue4 can be further added before the verb khŋ5 ‘store’ in (85), i.e. forming ‘e4 會/bue4𣍐 + V + leʔ7 得 + quantitative expression’, as shown by (86). However, this usage is also uncommon. (86) 會/𣍐 囥 得 三 四 十 日 e4/bue4 khŋ5 leʔ7-8 sã1 si5-3 tsap8-4 let8 can/cannot store CM three four ten day ‘(It) can/cannot be stored for thirty or forty days.’ As shown by (87) below, e4/bue4 khŋ5 leʔ0 會/𣍐囥得 can be used alone without a quantitative expression. A similar example (i.e. with the structure of e4 會/bue4𣍐 + V + leʔ0 得) is given in (88). (87) 會/𣍐 囥 得 khŋ5 leʔ0 e4/bue4 can/cannot store get ‘can/cannot be stored’ (88) 會/𣍐 記 得 4 4 5 e /bue ki leʔ0 can/cannot remember get ‘can/cannot remember (it)’ Unlike leʔ7 得 in (85) and (86) where leʔ7 can be regarded as a complement marker linking the verb and its quantitative complement, leʔ0 in (87) and (88) functions as a potential complement of the verbs khŋ5 ‘store’ and ki5 ‘remember’, respectively. Note that, in these two examples, the potential complement leʔ0 is in a neutral tone. In some other Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou and Xiamen, the complement marker 得 can also occur in the following two potential verb complement constructions: (a) V + 會/𣍐 + 得 + C, as in (89); and (b) 會/𣍐 + V + 得 +
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C, as in (90), where C is by contrast not confined to quantitative expressions (Li 2007b:166-167). (89) ‘V + 會 + 得 + C’ in Xiamen 食 會 得 落5 8-5 6-5 7-8 tsiaʔ e lit loʔ8 eat can CM down ‘be able to eat/be able to get an appetite’ (90) ‘會+ V + 得 + C’ in Xiamen 得 落 會 食 6-5 8-5 7-8 e tsiaʔ lit loʔ8 can eat CM down ‘be able to eat/be able to get an appetite’ When occurring in these two constructions as illustrated by (89) and (90), 得 in Xiamen can be pronounced as lit7 or tit7, whereas when it is followed by a quantitative expression, 得 in Xiamen can be pronounced as leʔ7, like leʔ7 得 in Hui’an as shown by (85) above. According to Li (2007b:167), these two constructions are formed, based on the construction ‘V +會/𣍐 + C’ as in (83) and (84) above: V +會 /𣍐 + C -> V + 會/𣍐 + 得 + C ->會/𣍐 + V + 得 + C. Li (2007b:166) also suggests that the function word 得 as illustrated by (89) and (90) is derived from the ‘get’ verb tit32 得, which undergoes phonological reduction during grammaticalization as in tit->lit->leʔ->le. The potential verb complement construction ‘V + 會 + 得 + C’ is also attested in Shantou, where 得 is pronounced as tik (see Shi 1996c: 161 for more details). However, neither ‘V + 會/𣍐 + 得 + C’ such as (89) nor ‘會/𣍐 + V + 得 + C’ such as (90) is attested in common usage in Hui’an. The ‘get’ verb functioning as a complement marker and potential complement is found in Mandarin Chinese as well. However, when functioning as a potential complement marker, Mandarin de 得 is normally inserted between a verb and its resultative or directional complement (rather than its quantitative complement) to change a resultative or directional verb complement construction into a potential verb complement construction, as in (82) above, which is reproduced in (91) below, where the complement marker de is inserted between the verb xiě ‘write’ and its resultative complement wán ‘finished’.
|| 5 The romanization given here is based on Zhou (2006).
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(91) The potential complement marker de 得 in Mandarin Chinese 寫 得 完 xiě de wán write CM finish ‘can finish writing (it)’ Unlike leʔ0 in Hui’an, the potential complement de in Mandarin Chinese does not co-occur with an auxiliary verb such as huì 會 ‘can’ in the structure e4 會/bue4𣍐 + V + leʔ0 得, i.e. it is used alone with a verb such as chī 吃 ‘eat’ in (92). The negative form uses the negator bù 不 ‘not’, which is inserted between the verb chī and its potential complement de, as in (93). (92) 吃 得 chī de eat get ‘can be eaten’ (93) 吃 不 得 chī bu de eat not get ‘cannot be eaten’ In her typological study on verb complement constructions in Chinese, Lamarre (2001) identifies four main patterns in the use of markers in potential, manner and extent complements: (a) there is no formal distinction in complement marking, e.g. the complement marker de 得 in Mandarin Chinese is used in all three kinds of complement; (b) potential complements versus manner and extent complements, e.g. the marker ti0 得 in Changli 昌黎 is used for manner and extent complements, while the potential complement is formed by V-C-l(i)ou; (c) extent complements versus manner and potential complements, e.g. Cantonese uses do3 到 as an extent complement marker and dak1 得 as a manner and potential complement marker; and (d) a three-way distinction in some Min varieties, e.g. the Zhangping 漳平 variety of Southern Min uses kau21 for extent, kai11 for manner, and ei53-21 tit55 for potential. The Hui’an dialect, as shown by preceding sections, uses a5 遘 and leʔ7 得 for manner complements, a5 遘 for extent complements, and e4 會/bue4𣍐 and leʔ7 得 for potential complements.
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10.9 Summary In previous sections, we have examined seven types of verb complement constructions. In this section, we focus on pointing out some important features of verb complement constructions. (a) As with other Southern Min varieties such as the Taiwan variety, monosyllabic directional complements are much more widely used than the disyllabic directional complements, especially compared with Mandarin Chinese. Semantic functions of some disyllabic directional complements are similar to those in Mandarin Chinese; (b) As for the relative order of verb, complement and object: The object of a verb complement construction is usually placed before the verb as a topic (i.e. OVC). Besides this possibility, the object can be inserted between the verb and its directional complement (i.e. VOC) except for locative objects, which can not only be inserted between the verb and its complement but can also be preceded by the verb complement construction (i.e. VOLOCC or VCOLOC). As for the resultative verb complement constructions, the object preferentially occurs following the verb-complement construction (i.e. VCO), but can also be inserted between the verb and its resultative complement in some fixed phrases (i.e. VOC), which suggests that VOC reflects the relative order of verb, complement and object in an earlier stage in the development of the Hui’an dialect, compared to VCO; (c) The complement markers a5 and leʔ7 are probably derived from the verb kau5 遘 ‘arrive’ and the verb tet7 得 ‘get’, respectively. (d) Compared with Mandarin Chinese, the most important feature of verb complement constructions in Hui’an (as also in other Southern Min varieties) is the use of the auxiliary verb e4 ‘can’ and its negative form bue4 ‘cannot’ for potential verb complement constructions, rather than the complement marker a5 as used in verb-manner complement constructions. The structures for verb complement constructions in Hui’an are summarized in Table 10-4. Tab. 10-4: Structures of verb complement constructions in the Hui’an dialect
Directional verb complement constructions
V1-V2DIR
(O-)V1-V2DIR; VCOLOC VOLOCC (O-)V1Quantitative-V2DIR; V1-O-V2DIR;
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V1-V2DIR-OINDEF Resultative verb complement constructions
V1-V2RES
(O-)V1-V2RES; V1-V2RES-O V1-O-V2RES (fixed phrases)
Verb-phase complement constructions
V1-V2PHA
(O-)V1-V2PHA V1-V2PHA-O
Verb-manner complement constructions
V-a5/leʔ7-C
(O-)V-a5/leʔ7 -C
Verb-extent complement constructions
V-a5-C; V-si3/a3
(O-)V-a5-C
Verb-quantitative complement V-Quantitative expresconstructions sion Potential verb complement constructions
V-e4/bue4-C; V-leʔ7-C; e4/bue4 –V-leʔ7-C
(O-)V-Quantitative expression (O-)V-e4/bue4-C; (O-)V-leʔ7-C; (O-)e4/bue4 -V-leʔ7-C
11 Aspect 11.1 Introduction The term ‘aspect’ traditionally refers to grammaticalized viewpoints, i.e. different grammaticized ways of viewing the internal temporal constituency of a situation (Comrie 1976:3, 7; Smith 1997:1).1 A basic aspectual distinction is that between perfective and imperfective: perfective presents a situation as a whole, without necessarily distinguishing any of its internal structure; whereas imperfective pays close attention to the internal make-up (Comrie 1976:16; Smith 1997:66, 73, among others). In some languages, imperfective may involve distinct subcategories such as habitual, progressive and continuous (or durative). In Chinese (including the Hui’an dialect), in addition to these, there exists a perfective aspect category as well as a morpheme which is used to express experiential meaning, that is, indicating that a given situation has held at least once prior to the moment of utterance (cf. Zhang 1996a). This is termed ‘experiential perfect aspect’ in Comrie (1976) and is traditionally regarded as a separate aspect in the literature on Chinese linguistics, i.e. jīngyàn tǐ 經驗體 ‘experiential aspect’. The typical aspect markers attested in Hui’an are summarized in the following table (see §11.3 and 11.4 for details).
|| 1 In Smith (1997), the term ‘aspect’ includes situation types, which constitutes one of the two independent aspectual components (the other one is viewpoint). https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-011
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Tab. 11-1: Typical aspect markers in the Hui’an dialect
Progressive
leʔ7 咧/tɯ4leʔ7 伫咧-VERB
Durative
VERB-leʔ7 咧/tɯ4leʔ7 伫咧
Habitual
leʔ7 咧/tɯ4leʔ7 伫咧-VERB
Experiential
pat7 八-VERB-tioʔ8 著 pat7 八-VERB VERB-tioʔ8 著
In the following section, we will argue that typical perfective aspect markers do not exist in Hui’an, unlike Mandarin Chinese and other Chinese dialects, such as the Yue branch.
11.2 Perfective aspect In Hui’an, the verbs liau3 了 ‘finish’, khɯ5 去 ‘go’ and u4 有 ‘have’ may indicate the achievement of an event or a state, or that an event happened, when preceded by or followed by another verb. However, none of them has developed into a typical, conventionalized perfective aspect marker, as foreshadowed in §10.3 above on resultative verb complement constructions. Note that khɯ5 去 ‘go’ can function not only as a resultative complement, but also as a directional and phase complement. The use of u4 有 ‘have’ preceding a verb (u4 + verb), rather than its use as a resultative complement, is the focus of this section.
11.2.1 liau3 ‘finish’ In Hui’an, liau3 is originally an intransitive verb meaning ‘finish’, as in (1), where liau3 indicates that an event is finished. (1)
今日 則 了 kiã1let8 tsiaʔ7-8 liau3 today just finish ‘(It) is not finished until today.’
When followed by a noun (phrase), liau3 functions as a transitive verb meaning ‘cost, lose’, as in (2).
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(2) 了 蠻儕 錢 liau3 ban2-4tsue5-4 tsin2 lose much money ‘lose much money’ In (2), the verb liau3 is followed by the noun phrase ban2-4tsue5-4 tsin2 ‘much money’. In this syntactic context, liau3 functions as a transitive verb meaning ‘cost, lose’. In Hui’an, liau3 often occurs after a verb functioning as a resultative complement to indicate the completion of a process or the total affectedness of the object of a process, as illustrated by (3). (3) 拄拄 則 食 了 tu3-2~tu3 tsiaʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8-4 liau3 just~just just eat finish (a) ‘(We) just finished eating.’ (b) ‘(Everything) has just been eaten up.’ In (3), tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’ is an activity verb denoting a process, and tsiaʔ8-4 liau3 may mean that the process of eating is just finished as shown by the interpretation (a), or that what we were eating has just been eaten up as in (b), depending on the context and the speaker’s focus. In other words, the resultative complement liau3 in (3) indicates the completion of the process itself or the total exhaustion of the object of a process. When preceded by the verb tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’, liau3 can also be used to indicate that an event has been achieved, when in a subordinate clause, similar to a temporal adverbial clause in English. (4) 藥 食 了 無 效果 ioʔ8 tsiaʔ8-4 liau3 bo2-4 hau5-4kɔ3 medicine eat finish not.have effect ‘There is no effect after taking this medicine.’ Unlike the resultative complement liau3 in (3), liau3 in (4) neither emphasizes the completion of a process, nor indicates that all the medicine has been finished. In this case, liau3 indicates that the event encoded by the verb tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’ is regarded as a whole without reference to its internal temporal structure, and that the action of taking the medicine has been done.
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This use of liau3 can co-occur with an instantaneous verb such as tshio5 笑 ‘laugh’ in (5), or a stative verb such as kiã1 驚 ‘be scared’ in (6), to indicate their anticipated achievement. (5) 笑 了 等 會 𣍐 堪 tshio5-3 liau3 tan3 e4 bue4 kham1 laugh finish wait would cannot bear ‘(You) will feel uncomfortable later after (you) laugh.’ (6) 驚 了 會 死 kiã1 liau3 e4 si3 be.scared finish would die ‘(People) may die after getting scared.’ Note that this use of liau3 directly follows a verb, and is followed by another clause, as shown by examples (4) – (6), to background one event as taking place before the event in the main clause takes place. This appears to be an important stage in the development of gramamticalized perfectives (see Li, Thompson and Thompson 1982; Bybee et al. 1994). In Mandarin Chinese, when the verb is followed by an object or a [numeral + classifier] complex, the perfective aspect marker le 了 can occur after the verb to express perfective aspectual meaning, as illustrated by (7). In Hui’an, however, the verb is used alone without liau3 了, as exemplified by (8). (7) a. V + le 了+ O (Mandarin Chinese) 我 買 了 張 床 wǒ mǎi le zhāng chuáng 1SG buy PFV CL bed ‘I bought a bed.’ b. V + le 了+ NUM + CL (Mandarin Chinese) 他 輸 了 五 百 tā shū le wǔ bǎi 3SG lose PFV five hundred ‘He lost five hundred yuan.’
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(8) a. V + O (Hui’an dialect) 我 買 張 床 gua3 bue3-2 tiũ1 tshŋ2 1SG buy CL bed ‘I bought a bed.’ b. V + NUM + CL (Hui’an dialect) 伊 輸 五 百 i1 su1 gɔ4 paʔ7 3SG lose five hundred ‘He lost five hundred yuan.’ Summarizing, besides functioning as a verb, liau3 in Hui’an is normally used as a resultative complement indicating the completion of a process or the total affectedness of the object of a process. Though it can occur after a verb indicating the anticipated achievement of an event or action, or a state, which is similar to the perfective aspectual meaning, this use of liau3 is limited to modifying verbs in the first clause of a complex sentence, and has not yet developed into a typical perfective aspect marker.
11.2.2 khɯ5 去 The word khɯ5 is originally a motion verb meaning ‘go’, as in (9), where khɯ5 functions as a main verb and is modified by the adverb suin1 先 ‘first’. (9) 恁 先 去 3 1 len suin khɯ5 2PL first go ‘You go first.’ When preceded by a verb, khɯ5 often functions as a directional complement, as in (10a), or as a resultative complement, as in (10b). (10) a. khɯ5 as a directional complement 攑 去 迄搭 kia2 khɯ5-3 hit7-8-taʔ7 take go that-LOC ‘Take (it) there!’
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b. khɯ5 as a resultative complement 糖仔 伊 食 去 thŋ2-4-a3 i1 tsiaʔ8 khɯ0 sugar-NM 3SG eat RVC ‘He ate the candy up.’ In (10a), khɯ5 follows the verb kia2 ‘take’ indicating the direction of the action kia2, which is further followed by the locative word hit7-8taʔ7 ‘there’. In (10b), khɯ5 follows the verb tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’ to indicate that something is eaten, that is, something moves away or disappears from its original place, which can be regarded as a result of the action tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’. In other words, khɯ5 here functions as a resultative complement, typically with patient topicalization. As mentioned in §10.4, when preceded by a stative verb or resultative verb complement construction, khɯ5 indicates the achievement of a state, i.e. indicating entering into a new state. Two examples are reproduced in (11) and (12). (11) 會 寒 去 e4 kuã2 khɯ0 would cold PVC ‘(You) would get cold.’ 去 (12) 喙齒 計 落 無 tshui5-3-khi3 ke5-3 lau5-3 bo2 khɯ0 mouth-tooth all fall not.have PVC ‘All (his) teeth have fallen out.’ In (11), khɯ0 follows the stative verb kuã2 ‘cold’ to denote entering the new state of ‘being cold’. In (12), khɯ0 follows the resultative verb complement construction lau5-3 bo2 ‘lose’ to indicate entering a new state, i.e. having no teeth. This use of khɯ0 usually co-occurs with predicates which have a negative meaning or indicate something unexpected. It functions as a phase complement (see §10.4), rather than as a typical perfective aspect marker.
11.2.3 u4 ‘have, exist’ The word u4 is originally a verb meaning ‘have, exist’, as in (13).
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(13) 有 燒水 u4 sio1-tsui3 have hot-water ‘There is hot water.’ When followed by a verb, u4 may indicate that an event happened, as illustrated by (14). (14) 我 有 去 gua3 u4 khɯ5 1SG have go ‘I went there.’ In (14), u4 occurs before the motion verb khɯ5 ‘go’ and may be interpreted as indicating that the event of going to a place happened. This may be the reason why the complex ‘u4 + V’ in Southern Min is often regarded as the counterpart of ‘V + le 了(PFV)’ in Mandarin Chinese. In fact, however, the main function of u4 in (14) is to confirm the existence of the event of going there, which then implies that the event happened. This can be supported by the fact that not all cases of ‘u4 + V’ indicate that an event happened, as illustrated by (15). (15) 㑑 有 抹 3 4 lan u buaʔ7 1PL have smear ‘We (women) use (skin products).’ Example (15) aims to express that we women have the habit of using skin products, unlike men. In this case, u4 precedes the verb buaʔ7 ‘smear’ to indicate the existence of the habit of using skin products, rather than to indicate that a specific event happened. When followed by a stative verb or an adjective, u4 indicates the existence of a state or property, as illustrated by (16) and (17). (16) 汝 有 驚 無 3 4 1 lɯ u kiã bo0 2SG have be.scared SFP ‘Are you scared?’
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(17) 湯 有 甜 thŋ1 u4 tin1 soup have sweet ‘The soup is sweet.’ In (16), u4 precedes the stative verb kiã1 ‘be scared’ to express the existence of the state of being scared. In (17), u4 is used with the adjective tin1 ‘sweet’ to indicate the existence of the property tin1 ‘sweet’, rather than the non-existence of any taste. Summarizing, when followed by a verb, u4 in Hui’an is used to state the existence of an event, a state or a property, rather than to function as a perfective aspectual marker.
11.3 Imperfective aspect As stated in §11.1, the Hui’an dialect uses the same aspect markers leʔ7 咧 and tɯ4leʔ7 伫咧 to denote progressive, durative and habitual aspect, which are three subtypes of imperfective aspect. These two markers are used interchangeably. However, in the contemporary Hui’an dialect, tɯ4leʔ7 is not common in daily conversation. Thus, we will take leʔ7 as an example in the following sections. It is important to note that, structurally, the progressive use of this marker occurs preverbally, whereas the durative use occurs post-verbally.
11.3.1 Progressive aspect The progressive aspect usually denotes an ongoing event, and typically involves an agent carrying out an action, as in (18) and (19). (18) 阮 咧 講 汝 其 否話 3 7-8 3-2 3 2-4 gun leʔ kaŋ lɯ e phai3-2-ue5 1PL PROG say 2SG GEN bad-word ‘We were speaking ill of you.’ (19) 伊 咧 嗽 i1 leʔ7-8 sau5 3SG PROG cough ‘He is coughing.’
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In these two examples, the aspect marker leʔ7 occurs before the action verbs kaŋ3 ‘speak’ and sau5 ‘cough’ to describe respectively an ongoing and involuntary event. In (18), kaŋ3 ‘speak’ is a verb denoting an activity, and leʔ7 is used to describe a continuous action. In (19), sau5 ‘cough’ is a semelfactive verb (also called a momentary or punctual verb), and leʔ7 is used to indicate iterations of an action. The progressive aspect marker in Hui’an can also be used with some stative verbs such as to3 倒 ‘lie’ and tsǝ4 坐 ‘sit’ in (20). (20) 咧 倒 抑 咧 坐 to3 aʔ8-4 leʔ7-8 tsǝ4 leʔ7-8 PROG lie or PROG sit ‘(She) was lying or sitting?’ In (20), both leʔ7-8 to3 ‘be lying’ and leʔ7-8 tsǝ4 ‘be sitting’ are used to describe someone’s postural state at the reference time. The progressive aspect can be used with an event or a state in the past, present or future. In daily conversation, the past, present or future is often clear in the context, without the presence of temporal words. Comparatively speaking, however, the future progressive is less used and often occurs with a temporal word, as exemplified by (21), where the progressive leʔ7-8 siɔŋ5-4khɔ5 咧上課 ‘be taking a lecture’ co-occurs with the temporal word biã2-4let8 明日 ‘tomorrow’ to describe an ongoing event in the future. (21) 明日 即站 我 咧 上課 biã2-4let8 tsit7-8tsam4 gua3 leʔ7-8 siɔŋ5-4khɔ5 tomorrow now 1SG PROG take.lectures ‘I will be taking a lecture this time tomorrow.’ The following two examples show that the progressive aspect in Hui’an can cooccur in the same sentence with inchoatives encoded by the verb khai1si3 開始 ‘start’ as in (22), or with iteratives encoded by duplicated forms of verb such as khaŋ5khaŋ5khaŋ5 控控控 ‘pick one’s nose over and over again’ in (23). (22) 口面 開始 咧 口口 3-2 2 1 3-2 7-8 leʔ sam5-3~sam5 khau ben khai si outside start PROG drizzle~drizzle ‘It’s started drizzling outside.’
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(23) 佫 咧 控控控 koʔ7 leʔ7-8 khaŋ5~khaŋ5~khaŋ5 again PROG pick~pick~pick ‘(He is) picking (his nose) over and over again.’ In (22), leʔ7-8 sam5-3sam5 ‘drizzling’ denotes an ongoing event ‘drizzling’, while the verb khai1si3 ‘start’ denotes the inchoative. In (23), the triplicated form khaŋ5khaŋ5khaŋ5 denotes an iterative event, that is, ‘picking (his nose)’ happens again and again, while leʔ7 indicates that this iterative event is ongoing.
11.3.2 Durative aspect The durative aspect marker leʔ7 (also tɯ4leʔ7) occurs after the predicate, denoting duration of a state, as illustrated by (24) and (25). (24) 汝 家己 口 咧 lɯ3 kai5-4ki5 la͂ 5 leʔ0 2SG self stay DUR ‘You stay (at home) by yourself.’ (25) 骹 縛 咧 kha1 pak8 leʔ0 foot tie DUR (a)‘The feet (of the chicken) are tied.’ (b)‘Bind the (chicken’s) feet.’ Unlike the progressive aspect which often co-occurs with an action verb, the durative aspect is often used with a stative verb. For example, the aspect marker leʔ0 follows the stative verb la͂ 5 ‘stay’ in (24) to describe a continuous state of staying at home. However, the durative apsect can also co-occur with an action verb such as pak8 ‘tie’ in (25). This example has two possible interpretations: (a) it is used to describe the state of the chicken’s feet after being bound; and (b) it is used in an imperative to ask someone to bind the chicken’s feet. In the second interpretation, the patient marker ka5 with a resumptive pronoun (i.e. the third person pronoun i1) can also be inserted between kha1 ‘foot’ and pak8 leʔ0 ‘tired’, that is, forming kha1 ka5-4 i1 pak8 leʔ0 ‘bind the chicken’s feet’. In the second interpretation, the final state after carrying out the action of binding is implied as part of its meaning.
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The complex [V + leʔ7] is often followed by another verb to indicate the manner of an event encoded by the following verb, as in (26). (26) 坐 咧 商量 tsǝ4 leʔ7-8 siɔŋ1liɔŋ2 sit DUR discuss ‘have a discussion while sitting’ In (26), the aspect marker leʔ7 follows the stative verb tsǝ4 to mean that the situation of sitting is maintained during the simultaneous event of having a discussion, and, syntactically, tsǝ4 leʔ7 ‘sitting’ occurs before the verb siɔŋ1liɔŋ2 ‘discuss’ to indicate the manner of the discussion. There is a prosodic break between leʔ7 and the verb siɔŋ1liɔŋ2. In this case, it resembles somewhat one of the uses of –zhe 著 in Mandarin Chinese (see Li & Thompson 1981:223-224).
11.3.3 Habitual aspect The progressive and durative aspect markers leʔ7 and tɯ4leʔ7 are also used in habitual contexts, which describe a situation that is characteristic of an extended period of time (cf. Comrie 1976:27-28). In Hui’an, the habitual aspect marker leʔ7 and tɯ4leʔ7 are typically used for denoting the occupation of a person, as in (27). (27) 𪜶 咧 賣 家俱 en1 leʔ7-8 bue4 ka1ku5 3PL HAB sell furniture (a)‘They are selling furniture.’ (b)‘They sell furniture.’ Example (27) has two possible interpretations: (a) it can be used to describe an ongoing event at the reference time, that is, they are selling furniture, rather than doing other things such as moving house, that is, it is the progressive use; or (b) it can be used as a response to the question about their occupation. In the second interpretation, bue4 ka1ku5 ‘sell furniture’ refers to a habitual situation, that is, a state holding over a long period, rather than a specific event happening at the reference time. Note that the second interpretation is more common than the first one in daily conversation. The following example shows that leʔ7 can also be used in other contexts that do not necessarily refer to a person’s occupation.
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(28) 細漢 咧 討論 甚物, sue5-3han5 leʔ7-8 tho3-2lun5 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 child HAB discuss what 口 咧 討論 甚物 tse5 leʔ7-8 tho3-2lun5 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 now HAB discuss what ‘What did you talk about when you were children, and what do you discuss now?’ In (28), leʔ7 is used twice before the verb phrase tho3-2lun5 si?m3-2bĩʔ7 ‘discuss what’ to denote the event of ‘talking about something’ in the way it has habitually taken place during two different periods, i.e. sue5-3han5 ‘as children’ and tse5 ‘now’. This example is not a question asking about the content of the discussion, but is used to express the big difference between two different periods.
11.4 Experiential aspect In Hui’an, the experiential aspectual meaning is indicated by two markers, i.e. pat7 八 and tioʔ8 著. These two markers often co-occur in one sentence, with the structure of pat7 + V + tioʔ8, as illustrated by (29). (29) 我 八 去 著 3 7-8 5-3 gua pat khɯ tioʔ8-4 1SG EXP go EXP ‘I have been to Beijing.’
北京 pak7-8kiã1 PN
In (29), together, pat7 and tioʔ8 indicate that I have been to Beijing at least once prior to the speech time. It is obvious that pat7 differs from tioʔ8 in that pat7 precedes the verb, whereas tioʔ8 follows the verb and may also be followed by a locative word such as pak7-8kiã1. The negative adverb m5 呣 ‘not’ can be added before pat7 to express an event which has not been experienced, as in (30), where m5 negates the experience of seeing something. In other words, both experiential markers can be retained in the negated construction. (30) 阮 呣 八 看 著 gun3 m5-4 pat7-8 khuã5 tioʔ0 1PL not EXP look EXP ‘I have never seen (it).’
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Both markers can be used alone to express experiential aspectual meaning. When used alone, tioʔ8 normally co-occurs with the auxiliary verb u4 有 ‘have’ or its negative form bo2 無 ‘not have’, as in (31). (31) 㑑 有/無 問 著 bŋ5 tioʔ0 lan3 u4/bo2-4 1PL have/not.have ask EXP ‘I have/have never asked (him).’ In (31), tioʔ8 indicates that the event of ‘asking him’ has been experienced, while the auxiliary verbs u4 and bo2 are used to confirm and negate the existence of the experience, respectively. Tioʔ8 著 is originally a verb meaning ‘touch, reach, get’. Use of the verb meaning ‘touch, reach, get’ to indicate an experiential aspectual meaning can also be found in Quanzhou (Li 1996b:206). However, in other Chinese varieties including the Xiamen, Shantou and Taiwan varieties of Southern Min, the Fuzhou variety of Min, Mandarin Chinese, the Meixian and Liancheng varieties of Hakka, the Anyi variety of Gan, Hong Kong Cantonese, and the Wenzhou, Tangxi and Hangzhou varieties of Wu, the experiential aspect marker is derived from the verb meaning ‘pass, cross’ (Li and Thompson 1981:226-232, Lin 1996:40, Xiang 1996:64, Wan 1996:88, Zhang 1996b:155, Matthews and Yip 2011:235, Chen 1996:236, Zhou and Ouyang 1998:373, Shi 1996d:183, Lu 2003:99). Thus, tioʔ8 in Hui’an and Quanzhou suggests a different lexical source of the experiential aspect marker. Comparatively speaking, the marker pat7 alone is used more frequently than the marker tioʔ8. An example is given in (32), where pat7 preceding the verb lai2 來 ‘come’ is used in an interrogative sentence to ask whether the addressee has ever had the experience of coming to the reference location, ‘here’, prior to the speech time. (32) 汝 八 來 呣 lɯ3 pat7-8 lai2 m0 2SG EXP come SFP ‘Have you been here before?’ As suggested by Chappell (2001b) (also Lien 2007:729), the use of pat as an experiential marker in Southern Min is derived from its use as a lexeme meaning
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‘know; be acquainted with’.2 Note also that Chappell (2001b) argues that the experiential aspect in Chinese including Southern Min such as what indicated by pat7 in (32) should not be considered as an aspect marker but rather as a type of evidential.
11.5 Summary This chapter has examined five aspectual categories in Hui’an: perfective, progressive, durative, habitual and experiential. We suggest that there is no typical perfective aspect marker, and the counterparts of the perfective aspect markers reported in the literature of Southern Min have not been fully grammaticalized as aspect markers in Hui’an. Following Comrie (1976), the imperfective aspect in Hui’an includes progressive, durative and habitual aspect. The Hui’an dialect uses the same aspect markers leʔ7 咧 and tɯ4leʔ7 伫咧 to denote these three subtypes of imperfective aspect. However, the progressive and habitual aspect markers leʔ7 and tɯ4leʔ7 precede the predicate, while the durative aspect markers leʔ7 and tɯ4leʔ7 follow it. There are two experiential aspect markers, pat7 八 and tioʔ8 著, of which pat7 is followed by the predicate, while tioʔ8 follows it. They often co-occur within the same clause.
|| 2 Chappell (2001b) uses the morpheme ‘別’ for the experiential pat4 in Southern Min, unlike Lien (2007) who uses the morpheme ‘八’ instead.
12 Modality 12.1 Introduction The term ‘modality’ traditionally refers to the speaker’s subjective evaluation and attitude towards events expressed in a proposition, and normally falls into three subcategories: dynamic, deontic and epistemic (cf. Lyons 1977; Palmer 1986, 2001, Nuyts 2005; Chappell & Peyraube 2016; among others). Dynamic modality encodes ability, and sometimes volition, as in (1a); deontic modality deals with the necessity or possibility of acts performed by morally responsible agents which involve obligation and permission, as in (1b); while epistemic modality involves the speaker’s belief or opinion about the validity of the proposition, as in (1c) (cf. Lyons 1977; Palmer 1986; Nuyts 2005; Chappell & Peyraube 2016). (1)
a. dynamic modality She can speak perfect French. b. deontic modality You must leave now. c. epistemic modality John must have been studying all night.
In (1a), the modal auxiliary verb can encodes the ability of speaking perfect French. The modal auxiliary verb must in (1b) expresses obligation, i.e. the necessity of leaving, while must in (1c) expresses a confident assumption, that is, the speaker believes that John has been studying all night. The core modal notions involve a possibility-necessity contrast (Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998). For example, permission is a type of possibility, while obligation is a type of necessity, according to their different degrees of force and certainty (see Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998:82 for details). Similarly, Chappell & Peyraube (2016) classify modal auxiliary verbs in Chinese into three main semantic groups: (a) possibility, including possibility and permission, such as Mandarin néng 能 ‘can, able to’ and kěyǐ 可以 ‘may, to be permitted to’; (b) necessity, obligation and certainty, such as Mandarin yīnggāi 應該 ‘ought to’; and (c) volition, such as Mandarin yào 要 ‘want to’. This chapter aims to examine how these three semantic types of modality (i.e. possibility, necessity and volition) are encoded in Hui’an. Generally speaking, modality in Hui’an can be expressed by modal auxiliary verbs, adverbs, syntactic structures (e.g. verb complement constructions) and modal particles (i.e. sentence-final particles). In this chapter, we will focus on modal auxiliary verbs and https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-012
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adverbs, including (a) possibility: e4 會 ‘can’, e4hiau3 會曉 ‘can’, u4huat7(-8thaŋ1)有 法(嗵1) ‘can’, e4thaŋ1 會嗵 ‘can’, u4thaŋ1 有嗵 ‘can’, thaŋ1 嗵 ‘can’, e4tsue5 會做 ‘can’, khɔ3-2liŋ2 可能 ‘possibly’ and m5-4lɔŋ3 呣攏 ‘possibly’; (b) necessity: tioʔ8 著 ‘should’, iŋ1kai1 應該 ‘should, must’, khŋ3-2tiŋ5 肯定 ‘certainly’ and et7-8tiŋ5 一定 ‘certainly’; (c) volition: boʔ7 卜 ‘want’, siu͂ 4boʔ7 想卜 ‘want’ and ai5 愛 ‘like, want’.
12.2 Possibility Van der Auwera & Plungian (1998) classify possibility into three main subcategories: (a) participant-internal possibility; (b) participant-external possibility; and (c) epistemic possibility. Participant-internal possibility (also termed ‘ability’) refers to possibility as attributed internally to a participant engaged in a state of affairs. In other words, the enabling conditions for the achievement of a state of affairs exist inherently in the participant. An example from English is reproduced in (2). (2) Participant-internal possibility Boris can get by with sleeping five hours a night. (Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998:80) Participant-external possibility, referring to the enabling circumstances external to the participant, falls into two subtypes: (a) non-deontic possibility: involving physical conditions, as in (3a); and (b) deontic possibility (i.e. permission): involving social conditions, as in (3b) (Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998). (3) Participant-external possibility a. non-deontic possibility To get to the station, you can take bus 66. (Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998:80) b. deontic possibility (permission) John may leave now. (Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998:81) Van der Auwera & Plungian (1998:84) mention that Bybee et al. (1994:178) use the term ‘root possibility’ in much the same sense of their term ‘participant-external possibility’. Root possibility reports on general enabling conditions, such as
|| 1 The morpheme 嗵 here is usually pronounced as aŋ1, rather than thaŋ1. This also applies to other modal auxiliary verbs involving 嗵.
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social or physical ones and so is not restricted to the internal condition of ability (Bybee et al. 1994:178). Both terms are thus used to include such types of external conditions while permission (involving social conditions) is regarded as a special instance of this (cf. Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998:84; Bybee et al. 1994:193). Nevertheless, the term ‘root possibility’ is often distinguished from ‘permission’ in Bybee et al. (1994). In other words, root possibility, in the narrow sense (i.e. not including permission), as in (4) below, seems to correspond to non-deontic possibility, as in (3a) above. However, as noted by Fan (2011), non-deontic possibility differs from root possibility in that the former focuses on the relative appropriateness of the achievement of an event, whereas the latter focuses on the possibility of the achievement of an event. (4) Root possibility I can ride that horse. (Bybee et al. 1994:192) According to Bybee et al. (1994:192), the enabling conditions for the agent (i.e. the speaker) to ride the horse in (4) do not lie entirely within the agent, but also depend on the external world, e.g. the properties of the horse. In other words, the external physical conditions here are of some significance in determining the agent’s ability and the achievement of the event ‘riding that horse’. In this case, the modal auxiliary verb can focuses on the possibility of riding that horse. In (3a) above, however, the auxiliary verb can does not indicate the possibility of the achievement of the event ‘taking bus 66’, but expresses that ‘taking bus 66’ is a possible way to get to the station. In other words, can in (3a) focuses on the appropriateness of taking bus 66, which is determined by external physical conditions such as the availability of a route between the station and the place where the addressee is. Epistemic possibility refers to the speaker’s judgment of the proposition as being uncertain, as illustrated by (5), where John’s arrival is judged possible by the speaker. (5) Epistemic possibility John may have arrived. (Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998:81) In the remainder of this section, we will examine how these subcategories of possibility (i.e. ability, root possibility, non-deontic possibility, permission and epistemic possibility) are encoded in Hui’an.
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12.2.1 Ability Two subcategories of ability have been distinguished: physical ability and mental ability. The modal words for expressing ability in Hui’an involve e4 會, e4hiau3 會 曉 and u4huat7(-8thaŋ1)有法(嗵). The most common one is e4, which can encode mental ability as in (6), or physical ability as in (7). (6) 我 會 說 廣東話 gua3 e4 sǝʔ7-8 kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 1SG can speak Cantonese ‘I can speak Cantonese.’ (7) 伊 手 長, 會 遘 櫥頂 i1 tshiu3 tŋ2 e4 kau5-3 tu2-4-tiŋ3 3SG hand long Can arrive closet-up ‘His hand is long and can reach the top of the closet.’ The ability such as e4 sǝʔ7-8 kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 ‘can speak Cantonese’ in (6) is traditionally regarded as mental ability, or ability in terms of learned skill. In (7), e4 kau5-3 tu24 tiŋ3 means that the subject i1 has an ‘internal’ physical ability to reach the top of the closet. As shown by the following example, e4 is originally a verb meaning ‘know, understand’. (8) 我 會 廣東話 gua3 e4 kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 1SG know Cantonese ‘I know Cantonese.’ Unlike e4 in (6) above, e4 in (8) is immediately followed by the noun kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 ‘Cantonese’ and functions as a main verb meaning ‘know, understand’. Example (8) normally means that someone can not only speak (some) Cantonese, but also understands (some) Cantonese, while example (6) focuses on the ability to speak Cantonese. More often, however, the mental ability or ability in terms of learned skill is encoded by the modal auxiliary verb e4hiau3, as in (9).
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(9) 我 會曉 說 廣東話 gua3 e4hiau3-2 sǝʔ7-8 kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 1SG can speak Cantonese ‘I can speak Cantonese.’ The use of e4hiau3 illustrated by example (9) is the only function of e4hiau3 as a modal auxiliary verb, unlike the modal auxiliary verb e4, which expresses a series of modal meanings such as mental ability, physical ability and epistemic possibility. This may explain why e4hiau3, rather than e4, is more often used to encode mental ability. The auxiliary verb use of e4hiau3 as shown by (9) is derived from its use as a verb meaning ‘know, understand’, as in (10), like the auxiliary verb e4. (10) 口 無 味, 會曉? bi5 e4hiau3 tse2 bo2-4 this not.have taste understand ‘This is tasteless, understand?’ Unlike e4hiau3, the modal word u4huat7(-8thaŋ1) encodes physical ability, rather than mental ability, as illustrated by (11). (11) 我 有法(嗵) 攑 十 斤 米 gua3 u4-huat7-8(thaŋ1) kia2 tsap8-4 kǝn1 bi3 1SG have-method(can) lift ten MW rice ‘I can lift ten catty of rice.’ In (11), the modal word u4huat7(-8thaŋ1) occurs before the verb phrase kia2 tsap8-4 kǝn1 bi3 ‘lift ten catty of rice’ to express that the subject (i.e. gua3) has the internal physical ability to lift ten catty of rice. As shown by example (11), u4huat7, literally meaning ‘have method’, can be used alone as a modal word expressing physical ability without the following thaŋ1 ‘can’. Note, however, that the modal word u4huat7-8thaŋ1 (with the following thaŋ1) is more common than u4huat7 (without the following thaŋ1) in daily conversation. In Hui’an, thaŋ1 itself normally occurs before a verb (phrase) to function as a modal word expressing modal meanings such as permission (see §12.2.4), while u4huat7 is often used alone without preceding a verb (phrase), as illustrated by (12), where u4huat7 is the main verb and the whole sentence means that we can resolve something by ourselves.
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(12) 阮 家己 有法 gun3 kai5-4ki5 u4-huat7 1PL self have-method ‘We have methods ourselves./We can resolve (it) by ourselves.’ Both e4 and u4huat7(-8thaŋ1) can be used to encode a recovered physical ability, as in (13). (13) 伊 口 會/有法(嗵) 行 咯 i1 tse5 e4/u4-huat7-8(thaŋ1) kiã2 lɔ0 3SG now can/have-method(can) walk SFP ‘He can walk now.’ Example (13) in fact has two possible interpretations. Firstly, it may mean that a child, who could not walk before, can walk now, i.e. has learnt how to walk. Secondly, it may mean that someone broke his leg and could not walk for some time, but now he can walk again, that is, he regains the ability to walk. In the second interpretation, the modal words e4 and u4huat7(-8thaŋ1) are used to encode a recovered ability. Nonetheless, normally speaking, people do not lose their mental abilities once they possess them. Hence, the following example can only mean that someone has learnt to speak Cantonese, rather than indicates that someone has regained their ability to speak it. (14) 我 口 會曉 說 廣東話 gua3 tse5 e4hiau3-2 sǝʔ7-8 kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 1SG now can speak Cantonese ‘I can speak Cantonese now.’
咯 lɔ0 SFP
12.2.2 Root possibility Besides encoding ability, the modal auxiliary verbs e4 and u4huat7(-8thaŋ1) can also indicate root possibility, that is, they can occur in the contexts where an external condition exists for the achievement of a state of affairs, as illustrated by (15). We use the term ‘root possibility’ here in the sense of Fan (2011).
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(15) 坐 七 路 車 會/有法(嗵) 遘 厝 tsǝ4 tshet7-8 lɔ5-4 tshia1 e4/u4-huat7-8(thaŋ1) kau5-3 tshu5 sit seven road vehicle can/have-method(can) arrive home ‘(We) can take the No. 7 bus to go home.’ Example (15) does not talk about someone’s internal ability to get home, but rather the bus line that people can use, which can be regarded as an external physical condition for achieving this. Root possibility can also be expressed by the modal auxiliary verbs e4thaŋ1 會 嗵 and u4thaŋ1 有嗵, as in (16) and (17). (16) 門 開 咧, 𪜶 則 會嗵 入來 khui1 leʔ0 en1 tsiaʔ7-8 e4thaŋ1 liǝp8lai0 bŋ2 door open DUR 3PL then can come.into ‘Keep the door open, so that they can come in.’ (17) 二十 口 有嗵 食 飽 無 li5-4tsap8-4 khɔ1 u4-thaŋ1 tsiaʔ8-4 pa3 bo0 twenty YUAN have-can eat full SFP ‘Can (you) eat enough with (the food) that costs 20 yuan?’ In (16), ‘keep the door open’ constitutes an external physical condition for them to come in. In (17), the speaker is asking whether food that costs 20 yuan is enough for the addressee to eat until fully satisfied. In this case, the quantity of the food constitutes an external physical condition of having a full stomach. In Hui’an, e4thaŋ1 can be used alone functioning as a main verb meaning ‘to be OK, to be acceptable’, as in (18), while u4thaŋ1 is usually followed by a verb, as illustrated by (17). (18) 口 會嗵 hǝ2 e4thaŋ1 that OK ‘That is OK.’ As shown by the following example, thaŋ1 can be used alone to express root possibility.
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(19) 明年 倒來 嗵 徛 新厝 buã2-4-lin2 to5lai0 thaŋ1 khia4 sen1-tshu5 next-year come.back can live new-house ‘(You) can live in the new house when (you) come back next year.’ In (19), the auxiliary verb thaŋ1 alone indicates the possibility of living in the new house, which is determined by the external physical condition that the new house will be ready when the addressee comes back next year.
12.2.3 Non-deontic possibility Besides encoding ability and root possibility, the modal verb e4 in Hui’an can also indicate non-deontic possibility, that is, indicate the appropriateness of a situation, which is determined by external physical conditions, as illustrated by (20). (20) 口 㑑 會 食 得 tse2 lan3 e4 tsiaʔ8 leʔ0 this 1PL can eat get ‘We can eat this.’ In (20), the auxiliary verb e4, followed by the verb tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’ and its potential complement leʔ0, indicates that it is suitable for us to eat this (see §10.8 on potential verb complement constructions for more details). In this case, the appropriateness of eating something is determined by the properties of the food. Non-deontic possibility can also be encoded by the modal auxiliary verbs thaŋ1 嗵 and e4tsue5 會做, as in (21) and (22), respectively. (21) 嗵 共 伊 買 電腦 呣 bue3-2 ten5-4lo3 m0 thaŋ1 ka5-4 i1 can to 3SG buy computer SFP ‘Can (I) buy her a computer?’ (22) 去 泉州, 會做 坐 汽車 khɯ5-3 tsuan2-4tsiu1 e4tsue5-3 tsǝ4 khi5-3tshia1 Go PN can sit Car ‘To get to Quanzhou, (you) can take the bus.’
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The context of example (21) is that the speaker is asking the addressee whether it is suitable to buy her daughter a computer, because she is worried that it may be still a bit early for her daughter to use a computer. In this case, the auxiliary verb thaŋ1 is used to express the appropriateness of buying her daughter a computer. In (22), the auxiliary verb e4tsue5, followed by the verb phrase tsǝ4 khi5-3tshia1 ‘take the bus’, indicates that it is feasible to get to Quanzhou by bus, which is determined by the distance between Quanzhou and the place where the addressee is.
12.2.4 Permission The modal auxiliary verbs e4, thaŋ1 and e4tsue5 can also denote permission, as in (23), where the time to get married is conditioned by social norms. (23) 二十 歲 則 會/嗵/會做 結婚 5-4 8-4 5 7-8 4 1 4 5-3 li tsap hǝ tsiaʔ e /thaŋ /e tsue ket7-8hun1 twenty year only.then can/can/can marry ‘(People) can get married when (they) are 20 years old.’ As with e4thaŋ1, e4tsue5 can be used alone to mean ‘to be OK’, as in (24). Note also that in a declarative sentence such as (24), e4tsue5 is more widely used than e4thaŋ1. (24) 紅桔 食 就 會做 2-4 7 8 5-4 tsiu e4tsue5 aŋ ket tsiaʔ orange eat then OK ‘It’s certainly OK to eat oranges.’
12.2.5 Epistemic possibility The Hui’an dialect normally uses the modal auxiliary verb e4 to express epistemic possibility, as in (25), where e4 loʔ8-4hɔ4 會落雨 is concerned with the speaker’s attitude towards a potential future event, that is, the speaker is uncertain whether it will rain. (25) 看勢 會 落雨 khuã5-3-se5 e4 loʔ8-4-hɔ4 look-situation can fall-rain ‘It looks as if it will rain.’
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The modal auxiliary verb (u4)thaŋ1(有)嗵 can also encode epistemic possibility, however, it is often used in negative sentences, as in (26), or interrogative sentences, as in (27). (26) 今日 無嗵 落雨 kia͂ 1let8 bo2-4-thaŋ1 loʔ8-4-hɔ4 today not.have-can fall-rain ‘It won’t rain today.’ (27) 今日 (有)嗵 落雨 kia͂ 1let8 (u4)thaŋ1 loʔ8-4-hɔ4 today (have)can fall-rain ‘Will it rain today?’
無 bo0 SFP
In (26), bo2-4thaŋ1, the negative form of the auxiliary verb (u4)thaŋ1, is followed by the verb loʔ8-4hɔ4 ‘rain’ to express that the speaker thinks that it will not rain today. In (27), the auxiliary verb (u4)thaŋ1 is used in a interrogative sentence to ask whether it will rain today or not. The Hui’an dialect also often uses adverbs, especially the adverb khɔ3-2liŋ2 可 能, to encode epistemic possibility, as in (28) and (29). (28) 可能 汝 無 看 著 khɔ3-2liŋ2 lɯ3 bo2-4 khuã5 tioʔ0 possibly 2SG not.have look PVC ‘Maybe you didn’t see (it).’ 其 (29) 伊 可能 超市 買 1 3-2 2 1 4 3 i khɔ liŋ tshiau tshi bue e0 3SG possibly supermarket buy SFP ‘He may have bought (it) at the supermarket.’ In both these two examples, the adverb khɔ3-2liŋ2 is used to indicate the speaker’s subjective judgment. The adverb khɔ3-2liŋ2 can occur at the sentence-initial position, as in (28), or occur between the subject and the main predicate, as in (29). As shown by the following example, the adverb m5-4lɔŋ3 呣攏 can also encode epistemic possibility.
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(30) 呣攏 卜 讀 一年 咯 m5-4lɔŋ3-2 boʔ7-8 thak8-4 et7-8-lin2 lɔ0 possibly want study one-year SFP ‘(He) may be going into first grade.’
12.3 Necessity In Hui’an, the modal auxiliary verbs for encoding necessity include tioʔ8 著 and iŋ1kai1 應該. The auxiliary verb tioʔ8 can encode the participant’s internal need, as in (31). (31) 我 逐日 著 睏 八 gua3 tak8-4-let8 tioʔ8-4 khun5 pueʔ7-8 1SG every-day need sleep eight ‘I need to sleep eight hours every day.’
點鐘 tiǝm3-2tsiŋ1 hour
The modal word tioʔ8 can also express compelling physical conditions that are external to the participant, as in (32). (32) 卜 去 車站, boʔ7-8 khɯ5-3 tshia1tsam4 want go station 汝 著 坐 七 路 車 lɯ3 tioʔ8-4 tsǝ4 tshet7-8 lɔ5-4 tshia1 2SG should sit seven road vehicle ‘To get to the station, you have to take bus 7.’ Unlike the modal word e4tsue5, which expresses a possible option (that is, suggests the existence of other options), the modal word tioʔ8 often suggests that there is only one option, or else the option offered by the speaker is the best one, and so the addressee should take it up. The modal word tioʔ8 can also encode deontic necessity, i.e. obligation, as illustrated by (33). (33) 汝 糖仔 著 分 儂 食 lɯ3 thŋ2-4-a3 tioʔ8-4 pun1 laŋ4 tsiaʔ8 2SG sugar-NM should distribute other eat ‘You should share your candies with others.’
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As shown by the following example, tioʔ8 is originally a verb meaning ‘touch, reach’. (34) 骹 著 地 kha1 tioʔ8-4 tue5 foot touch floor ‘The foot touches the floor.’ The modal auxiliary verb iŋ1kai1 normally encodes epistemic necessity, as in (35). (35) 伊 應該 是 八 點 遘 1 1 1 4 7-8 3 iŋ kai si pueʔ tiǝm kau5 i 3SG must be eight o’clock arrive ‘It must be 8 o’clock when he arrives.’ Epistemic necessity is often encoded by an adverb such as khŋ3-2tiŋ5 肯定 and et78 tiŋ5 一定, in which khŋ3-2tiŋ5 is typically used in positive sentences, as in (36), while et7-8tiŋ5 is generally used in negative sentences, as in (37). (36) 肯定 是 汝 家己 無 主動 tsu3-2tɔŋ4 khŋ3-2tiŋ5 si4 lɯ3 kai5-4ki5 bo2-4 certainly be 2SG self not.have active ‘It is certain that you yourself didn’t take the initiative in (this). 一定 卜 (37) 儂 也 無 laŋ4 a4 bo2-4 et7-8tiŋ5 boʔ7-8 other also not.have certainly want ‘It’s not certain that he wants to come.’
來 lai2 come
12.4 Volition The main modal auxiliary verbs of volition in Hui’an involve boʔ7 卜 and siu͂ 4boʔ7 想卜. Examples are given in (38) and (39). (38) 我 卜 去 gua3 boʔ7-8 khɯ5 1SG want go ‘I want to go (there).’
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(39) 伊 想卜 買 厝 i1 siũ4boʔ7-8 bue3-2 tshu5 3SG want buy house ‘He wants to buy a house.’ In (38), the modal auxiliary verb boʔ7 occurs before the motion verb khL5 ‘go’ to express the speaker’s volition to go somewhere. In (39), the auxiliary verb siu͂ 4boʔ7, consisting of the verb siu͂ 4 ‘think’ and the verb boʔ7 ‘want’, is followed by the verb phrase bue3-2 tshu5 ‘buy a house’ to express the subject’s desire to buy a house. In this use, boʔ7 is more common than siu͂ 4boʔ7. As illustrated by (40) below, boʔ7 in Hui’an is originally a verb meaning ‘want’. This is a typical lexical source for the volition modal (cf. Bybee et al. 1994; Van der Auwera & Plungian 1998). (40) 雞翼 汝 卜 呣 1 8 3 7 kue -set lɯ boʔ m0 chicken-wing 2SG want not ‘Do you want a chicken wing?’ In (40), boʔ7 is the only verb, and its object kue1set8 ‘chicken wing’ is placed in clause-initial position functioning as a topic. There is another main modal auxiliary verb of volition in Taiwan, i.e. ai3 愛 ‘to want’, which is derived from its use as a verb meaning ‘like’ (cf. Chappell & Peyraube 2016). In Hui’an, some examples of ai5 愛 seem to be able to be interpreted as a modal auxiliary verb meaning ‘want’, as in (41). (41) 愛 倒來 倒來 5-3 5 0 ai to lai to5lai0 like come.back come.back ‘Come back if you like/want.’
12.5 Summary In this chapter, we have examined how the three semantic types of modality possibility, necessity and volition - are encoded by modal auxiliary verbs and adverbs in Hui’an. Possibility includes ability, root possibility, non-deontic possibility, permission and epistemic possibility. A series of modal auxiliary verbs is attested that
Summary | 239
encode possibility, of which e4 會 and thaŋ1 嗵 are most common and multifunctional. The modal auxiliary verb e4 encodes all the five subcategories of possibility, while thaŋ1 expresses all the five subcategories of possibility except ability. Epistemic possibility can also be expressed by adverbs such as khɔ3-2liŋ2 可能 and m54 lɔŋ3 呣攏. The modal auxiliary verbs for encoding necessity include tioʔ8 著 and iŋ1kai1 應該, of which, tioʔ8 encodes the participant’s internal need, if not the compelling physical conditions external to the participant, that is, deontic necessity (i.e. obligation), whereas iŋ1kai1 normally encodes epistemic necessity. Epistemic necessity is also often encoded by an adverb such as khŋ3-2tiŋ5 肯定 and et7-8tiŋ5 一定. The main modal auxiliary verbs of volition are boʔ7 卜 and siu͂ 4boʔ7 想卜. The verb ai5 愛 ‘like’ can also be interpreted as a modal auxiliary verb meaning ‘want’.
13 Negation 13.1 Introduction In their typological study of negation in Chinese, Chappell & Peyraube (2016b) distinguish three main syntactic categories of negatives and put forward a semantic typology of negation, as shown in (i) below. (i) Syntactic and semantic typology of negation in Chinese A. Negative existential and possessive verbs B. Standard negation: negators of declarative main clauses (a) Perfective negatives ‘not Ved’: an event in a past time context did not take place (b) General and volitional negatives ‘not (want to) V’ (c) Imminent negatives ‘not yet Ved’: an event or action has not taken place at the reference point of time, while nonetheless being expected or anticipated to occur in the future (d) Irrealis negatives ‘unlikely to V/unable to V’: expressing either inability of the subject to carry out an action or the unlikelihood of an event taking place, due to some external circumstance which prevents its occurrence C. Prohibitives: negators of imperative clauses (a) General prohibitives ‘Don’t V!’ (b) ‘Lack of necessity’ negatives ‘There’s no need to V’/ ‘You needn’t V’ (c) Injunctive negatives ‘It’s better not to V’/ ‘You shouldn’t V’ All these types of negative can be attested in Hui’an, as in Table 13-1.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-013
General and volitional negatives m5 呣 and m5-4ai5 呣愛 | 241
Tab. 13-1: Main negatives in the Hui’an dialect
Hui’an
Mandarin Chinese
bo2 無
méi(yǒu) 沒(有)
Perfective negative
bo2 無
méi(yǒu) 沒(有)
General and volitional negatives
m5 呣; m5-4ai5 呣愛
bù 不
Imminent negative
bǝ5 未
Irrealis negative
bue4𣍐
General prohibitive
baŋ1~m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵
bùyào 不要 ~ bié 別
‘Lack of necessity’ negatives
(m5-4)ben3 (呣)免
bùyòng 不用~ béng 甭
Injunctive negatives
buan3
Negative existential and possessive verb Standard Negation
Prohibitives
As shown in Table 13-1 above, there are four main negative forms in Mandarin Chinese, that is, méi, bù, bié, béng, of which bié and béng are fused forms of bùyào and bùyòng respectively (cf. Chappell & Peyraube 2016b). Unlike Mandarin Chinese, the Hui’an dialect possesses a comparatively large number of negatives: two general and volitional negatives m5 呣 and m5-4ai5 呣愛; an existential and perfective negative bo2 無; the imminent negative bǝ5 未 ‘not yet’; the irrealis negative bue4𣍐 ‘not be able, unlikely’; the general prohibitive baŋ1 呣嗵 and its unfused form m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵; the ‘lack of necessity’ negatives (m5-4)ben3 (呣)免 ‘do not need’ and the injunctive negative buan3 ‘best not to, should not’. Some of these negatives, such as m5-4ai5, bue4 and baŋ1~m5-4thaŋ1, are either adverbs or modal auxiliary verbs.
13.2 General and volitional negatives m5 呣 and m5-4ai5 呣愛 The negative marker m5 呣 in Hui’an functions as a general negative with the meaning of ‘not’ and often expresses lack of volition on the agent’s part to carry out an action, that is, meaning ‘to not want’. Similarly, the negator m5-4ai5 呣愛, being the negative form of the modal auxiliary verb ai5 愛 ‘want’, functions as a volitional negative ‘to not want’.
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The negative form m5 often occurs with an activity predicate over which the subject has some control to suggest that the subject does not want to do something, as illustrated by (1). (1)
我 呣 食 gua3 m5-4 tsiaʔ8 1SG not eat ‘I don’t want to eat (an apple).’
In (1), m5 precedes the verb tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’ to negate the speaker’s willingness to eat an apple. In other words, the speaker refuses to eat an apple. In this case, m5 functions as a volitional negative, and can thus be regarded as the negative form of the modal auxiliary verb boʔ7 卜 ‘want’, which expresses volition. The use of the general negative m5 to express lack of volition on the agent’s part to carry out an action is also reported in other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen, Quanzhou and Taiwan (cf. Li 1971, Teng 1990, Li 2007a, see also Chappell & Peyraube 2016b). The negator m5 is also often used to negate the copular verb si4 是 ‘be’, as in (2) and (3). In this case, there is no component of unwillingness. (2) 伊 呣 是 大學生 i1 m5-4 si4 tua5-4oʔ8-4siŋ1 3SG not be university.student ‘He is not a university student.’ 說 伊 (3) 呣 是 咧 m5-4 si4 leʔ7-8 sǝʔ7-8 i1 not be PROG say 3SG ‘(We) are not talking about him.’ In (2), the negator m5 occurs before the copular verb si4, which is further followed by the noun phrase tua5-4oʔ8-4siŋ1 ‘university student’. In this case, the negator m5 is used to negate that he is a university student. In (3), m5-4 si4 ‘not be’ is not followed by a noun phrase, but followed by the verb phrase leʔ7-8 sǝʔ7-8 i1 ‘talking about him’, to negate that we are talking about him. As shown by the following example, m5-4 si4 is often used alone to deny what someone else has said.
General and volitional negatives m5 呣 and m5-4ai5 呣愛 | 243
(4) A: 即張 呀 tsit7-8-tiũ1 ia0 this-CL SFP ‘It is this piece (of paper).’ B: 呣 是, 即張 發票 m5-4 si4 tsit7-8-tiũ1 huat7-8phio5 not be this-CL invoice ‘No, this piece (of paper) is the invoice.’ In (4), m5-4 si4 in turn B is used to deny what has been said in turn A. In this use, m5-4 si4 is usually followed by an explanation, such as the clause tsit7-8tiu͂ 1 huat78 phio5 ‘this piece (of paper) is the invoice’ in (4). The negator m5 can be used with some stative verbs such as the verb of cognition pat7 別 ‘know’ in (5). (5) 儂 呣 別 汝 m5-4 pat7 lɯ0 laŋ4 other not know 2SG ‘She doesn’t know you.’ In (5), the negator m5 precedes the verb of cognition pat7 ‘know’ to negate the presupposition that the subject (‘she’) knows the addressee. In this case, it is a fact that the subject does not know the addressee, while the willingness of the subject is not involved. Unlike the Mandarin general negative bù 不 ‘not’, the negator m5 in Hui’an is normally not used to negate an adjective, as illustrated by (6) and (7). (6) Mandarin general negative bù 不 ‘not’ 這 朵 花 不 香 zhè duǒ huā bù xiāng this CL flower not fragrant ‘This flower is not fragrant.’ (7) Hui’an general negative m5 呣 ‘not’ *即蕊 花 呣 芳 7-8 3-2 1 5-4 tsit -lui hue m phaŋ1 this-CL flower not fragrant ‘This flower is not fragrant.’
244 | Negation
In (6), the general negative bù ‘not’ in Mandarin can occur before the adjective xiāng ‘fragrant’, or before other adjectives, to negate the property of being fragrant, if not some other property. In (7), however, the general negative m5 ‘not’ in Hui’an cannot be used with the adjective phaŋ1 ‘fragrant’. Another negator, bo2 無 ‘not have’, is often required for use with the category of the adjective (see the following section for details). The following example shows that the adjective tioʔ8 著 ‘right’ can be negated by m5 ‘not’. (8) 呣 著 m5-4 tioʔ8 not right ‘not right’ Note, however, that in earlier Southern Min (19th century), it is not uncommon for the general negative m5 to negate adjectives (see Xu 2017 for details). The negative marker m5 can be used to negate modal auxiliary verbs. As mentioned above, when negating the modal auxiliary verb ai5 愛 ‘want’, the volitional negative m5-4ai5 呣愛 is created, as in (9). The negative m5-4 ai5 is originally the negative form of the verb ai5 ‘like’, expressing that someone does not like to do something, as illustrated by (10). (9) 我 口 呣愛 抹 3 5 5-4 5-3 gua tse m -ai buaʔ7 1SG now not-like smear ‘I don’t want to smear (it) on now.’ 說 爸 其 否話 (10) 伊 呣愛 聽 儂 i1 m5-4-ai5-3 thiã1 laŋ4 sǝʔ7-8 pa2 e2-4 phai3-2-ue5 3SG not-like hear other say father GEN bad-word ‘She doesn’t like hearing others speak ill of her father.’ In (9), someone is suggesting to use some skin products for the speaker, while the speaker does not want to use any at that point of time. In other words, m5-4ai5 is used to express that the speaker is momentarily not willing to use the skin products, rather than to express that the speaker does not like to use them. Note that the counterpart of the volitional negative m5-4ai5 in some other Southern Min varieties such as Taiwan has undergone fusion: m + ai > mmai (cf. Chappell & Peyraube 2016b).
Perfective negative bo2 無 | 245
The negative marker m5 is also used to negate the modal auxiliary verb thaŋ1 嗵 to form the general negative imperative m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵 ‘do not’, as discussed below. The negator m5 can also be used to negate the experiential aspect marker pat7 八, expressing that someone has never done the given action before, as in (11). (11) 呣八 穿 5-4 7-8 m pat tshiŋ5 never wear ‘have never worn (the shirt)’ Note that Lien (2007) argues that the experiential aspect marker pat4 八 in Southern Min developed from the lexeme pat4 meaning ‘know’, as exemplified by (5) above.
13.3 Perfective negative bo2 無 This negative has at least four syntactic uses: it can (a) function as a negative existential and possessive verb; (b) precede a verb or an adjective, functioning as a negative adverb; (c) follow a verb functioning as a resultative complement; and (d) be used alone to negate a proposition. As a verb, bo2 typically expresses ‘not exist’, as in (12), or ‘not possess’, as in (13). In other words, bo2 functions as the negative form of the verb u4 有 ‘exist, possess’. (12) 即搭 無 風 7-8 7 2-4 tsit -taʔ bo huaŋ1 this-LOC not.have wind ‘There is no wind here.’ (13) 我 無 鎖匙 gua3 bo2-4 so3-2si2 1SG not.have key ‘I don’t have the key.’ In (12), the verb bo2 is preceded by the locative word tsit7-8taʔ7 ‘here’ and followed by the noun huaŋ1 ‘wind’, indicating that the wind does not exist here. In (13), bo2 is preceded by the first-person singular pronoun gua3 and followed by the noun so3-2si2 ‘key’, meaning that I am not in possession of the key.
246 | Negation
The verb bo2 may also mean ‘be short of’, as illustrated by (14). (14) 媽仔 無 目眉 2 0 2-4 bo bak8-4bai2 bã -a mother-NM not.have eyebrow ‘Mother hardly has any eyebrows.’ (Literally: ‘Mother does not have any eyebrows.’) Example (14) literally means that mother does not have any eyebrows. However, bo2 is not used here in this literal meaning of the non-possession of eyebrows, but rather that she does not have thick or bushy eyebrows or simply that her eyebrows are not dark enough. In other words, bo2 is used to show that the mother’s eyebrows are lacking in a certain quantity or that their color does not reach a certain degree. The following example shows that the verb bo2 can appear in sentences expressing comparison of inferiority. (15) 伊 無 我 巧 i1 bo2-4 gua3 khiau3 3SG not.have 1SG clever ‘He is not as smart as me.’ In (15), his cleverness does not achieve the degree that I have, that is, he is not as smart as me. In other words, bo2 is used in comparison of inferiority, and thus can be interpreted as meaning ‘inferior to’. The verb bo2 can also mean ‘lose, disappear’, as in (16). (16) 喙齒 無 去 bo2 khɯ0 tshui5-3-khi3 mouth-tooth not.have PVC ‘His teeth are all gone.’ When followed by a dynamic verb, bo2 is used for negating a presupposition from the context that an action or event has been carried out or has happened, as in (17). This can be compared with the use of the negator m5 with the same dynamic verb, as in (18).
Perfective negative bo2 無 | 247
(17) 伊 無 交 i1 bo2-4 kau1 3SG not.have hand.in ‘He didn’t hand (it) in.’ (18) 伊 呣 交 i1 m5-4 kau1 3SG not hand.in ‘He refuses to hand (it) in.’ As shown by these two examples, bo2 focuses on negating the belief/presupposition by the interlocutor (or from the context) that something has occurred, while m5 focuses on negating the willingness of the subject to do something. Example (17) with bo2 is normally interpreted as a past event, that is, the event that he hands in the document has not happened before the speech time. However, the same clause can also be used for a future event, e.g. in a hypothetical context, as in (19) below which represents the first clause in a complex conditional sentence. Example (18) with m5 is normally interpreted as a present event, as shown by the English translation. However, the use of m5 is not restricted by the temporal context: it can also be used for a past event, as in (20), or a future event, as in (21). (19) 伊 明日 若 無 交 1 2-4 8 4 2-4 i biã let lã bo kau1 3SG tomorrow if not.have hand.in ‘If he won’t have handed (it) in tomorrow …’ (20) 伊 昨日 呣 交 i1 tsa4let8 m5-4 kau1 3SG yesterday not hand.in ‘He refused to hand (it) in yesterday.’ (21) 伊 明日 若 呣 交 biã2-4let8 lã4 m5-4 kau1 i1 3SG tomorrow if not hand.in ‘If he refuses to hand (it) in tomorrow…’ Similarly, bo2 and m5 can both occur with some stative verbs such as tɔŋ2-4i5 同意 ‘agree’ in (22), where bo2 indicates that Father did not agree with the suggestion
248 | Negation
as expected by everyone, while m5 indicates that Father refuses to agree with the suggestion. Generally speaking, when Father refused to agree with the suggestion, it is also the case that he did not agree with the suggestion. However, bo2 and m5 are used to describe the event from different aspectual and modal perspectives. (22) a. 爸仔 無 同意 2 0 2-4 pa -a bo tɔŋ2-4i5 father-NM not.have agree ‘Father didn’t agree (with the suggestion).’ b. 爸仔 呣 同意 pa2-a0 m5-4 tɔŋ2-4i5 father-NM not agree ‘Father refuses/refused to agree (with the suggestion).’ The negator bo2 can precede the modal auxiliary verb thaŋ1 嗵 ‘can’ to form the negative counterpart of the modal auxiliary verb u4thaŋ1 有嗵 ‘can’, which expresses a series of modal meanings such as root possibility, permission and epistemic possibility (see the preceding chapter). Two examples of bo2-4 thaŋ1 are given in (23) and (24). (23) 往日 無嗵 照相 3-2 8 2-4 1 ɔŋ let bo -thaŋ tsio5-3siɔŋ5 before not.have-can take.pictures ‘(We) could not take pictures in former days.’ 去 (24) 媽仔 無嗵 與 我 bã2-a0 bo2-4-thaŋ1 khɔ5-4 gua3-2 khɯ5 mother-NM not.have-can give 1SG go ‘Mother doesn’t allow me to go (there).’ In (23), the speaker is talking about the lack of opportunity to take pictures in former days, due to lack of money or a photographer. In other words, bo2-4thaŋ1 is used to express the lack of the necessary external conditions for people to take pictures. This is a case of root possibility, also known as participant-external possibility (see §12.2.2 above). In (24), bo2-4thaŋ1 is used to denote permission, that is, the subject (mother) does not permit the speaker to go to some place.
Perfective negative bo2 無 | 249
Unlike Mandarin Chinese where adjectives are normally negated by the general negative bù 不 ‘not’ (rather than the perfective negative méi(yǒu)沒(有) ‘there is not, not have’), adjectives in Hui’an are normally negated by the perfective negative bo2 ‘there is not, not have’ (rather than the general negative m5 ‘not’), as illustrated by (25), where bo2 modifies the adjective ho3 好 ‘good’ and negates the existence of a state of good health. (25) 身體 無 好 sen1the3 bo2-4 ho3 body not.have good ‘be in bad health’ The negative bo2 can also be used to negate a verb complement construction, which either precedes the verb complement construction as in (26), or is inserted between the verb and its complement, as in (27) (see also §10.3.3). (26) 無 看 了 bo2-4 khuã5-3 liau3 not.have look finish ‘(We) didn’t finish watching (the program).’ (27) 看 無 了 khuã5-3 bo2-4 liau3 look not.have finish ‘(We) didn’t finish watching (the program).’ In (26), bo2 is placed before the resultative verb complement construction khua}5-3 liau3 ‘finish watching’. In (27), bo2 is inserted between the verb khua}5 ‘look, watch’ and its resultative complement liau3 ‘finish’. In these two cases, the scope of negation is different: bo2 in (26) negates the whole verb complement construction, whereas bo2 in (27) negates only the resultative complement. However, they both describe the event that the people involved did not finish watching the program. As mentioned above, bo2 can follow a verb such as khuã5 看 ‘look’ in (28) to function as its resultative complement. (28) 看 無 khuã5-3 bo2 look not.have ‘(I) didn’t see (it).’
250 | Negation
The negator bo2 can also negate a proposition, as in (29), where the first bo2 in turn B negates what turn A says. (29) A: 逐年 (呣也) 招 儂 tak8-4-lin2 bã4 tsio1 laŋ2 every-year also recruit person ‘(They) recruit new people every year.’ B: 無 呀, 幾落 年 無 招 咯 bo2 ia0 kui3-2loʔ8-4 lin2 bo2-4 tsio1 lɔ0 not.have SFP quite.a few year not.have recruit SFP ‘No, (they) have not recruited any new people for quite a few years.’
13.4 Imminent negative bǝ5 未 The negator bǝ5 ‘not yet’ typically modifies a verb to denote that something has not yet happened, as in (30), or someone/something has not yet entered a state, as in (31). (30) 未 洗 bǝ5-4 sue3 not.yet wash ‘have not yet been washed’ (31) 水 未 燒 tsui3 bǝ5-4 sio1 water not.yet hot ‘The water has not yet become hot.’ In (30), the negator bǝ5 precedes the verb sue3, indicating that the clothes have not yet been washed. In (31), bǝ5 modifies the adjective sio1, meaning that the water has not yet entered a new state, that is, of being hot. The negative marker bǝ5 can be placed between a verb and its resultative complement to negate the outcome (result state), as in (32). (32) 裝修 未 了 tsɔŋ1siu1 bǝ5-4 liau3 renovate not.yet finish ‘The house renovation has not yet been finished.’
Irrealis negative bue4 𣍐 | 251
In (32), bǝ5 is inserted between the verb tsɔŋ1siu1 ‘renovate’ and its resultative complement liau3 ‘finished’, denoting that the house renovation has not yet been finished. In other words, bǝ5 is used to denote that an action or event has not yet achieved a certain result, which implies that more work is required. The negative form bǝ5 can also be used to negate the modal auxiliary verb thaŋ1 嗵 to express ‘cannot yet’, as in (33). (33) 未嗵 摑 捒 kɔk8-4 sak7 bǝ5-4-thaŋ1 not.yet-can throw RVC ‘(You) cannot throw (it) away yet.’
13.5 Irrealis negative bue4 𣍐 The morpheme bue4, being the negative form of the verb e4 會 ‘know, understand’, can function as a verb meaning ‘not know, not understand’, as in (34). (34) 我 𣍐 廣東話 3 4 gua bue kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 1SG not.know Cantonese ‘I don’t know Cantonese.’ As suggested by previous research on Southern Min, bue4 may be a fused form of the negator m5 (or bo2) and the verb e4 ‘know, understand’ (cf. Li 2007; Lien 2015). When followed by a verb phrase, bue4 can function as a modal auxiliary verb, expressing inability to carry out an action or the unlikelihood of an event taking place (see also Chappell & Peyraube 2016b). Two examples are given in (35) and (36). (35) 我 𣍐 說 廣東話 3 4 7-8 gua bue sǝʔ kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 1SG cannot speak Cantonese ‘I cannot speak Cantonese.’ (36) 看勢 𣍐 落雨 khuã5-3-se5 bue4 loʔ8-4-hɔ4 look-situation cannot fall-rain ‘It looks as if it won’t rain.’
252 | Negation
In (35), bue4 encodes inability due to not having learned the language. In (36), bue4 indicates the speaker’s attitude towards a potential future event. In other words, in the speaker’s opinion, it will not rain, a case of epistemic modality (see §12.2.5). The following example provides an illustration of the negator bue4 being inserted between a verb and its resultative complement, once again to code inability due to limited stomach capacity. (37) 食 𣍐 了 tsiaʔ8-4 bue4 liau3 eat cannot finish ‘cannot finish (it)’ In (37), bue4 denotes that the action denoted by tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’ cannot achieve the result of liau3 ‘finish’. The negative marker bue4 can also be used to negate adjectives, expressing the impossibility of existence of a state, as in (38). An example of adjective negated by the perfective negative bo2 is given in (39) for comparison. (38) 即領 𣍐 否看 phai3-2-khuã5 tsit7-8-liã3 bue4 this-CL cannot bad-look ‘This (shirt) cannot look unstylish.’ (39) 即領 無 好看 tsit7-8-liã3 bo2-4 ho3-2-khuã5 this-CL not.have good-look ‘This (shirt) doesn’t look good.’ The adjective phai3-2khuã5 ‘bad looking’ is the antonym of ho3-2khuã5 ‘good looking’, and ‘good looking’ is normally what people expect for a shirt. In this context, the negator bue4 typically occurs with phai3-2khuã5, as in (38), rather than the adjective ho3-2khuã5, whereas the negator bo2 is typically used with the adjective ho32 khuã5, as in (39), but not with the adjective phai3-2khuã5. In other words, bue4 tends to negate adjectives with a negative meaning, whereas bo2 tends to negate the positive ones. In addition, the negative bue4 in (38) negates the possibility of being unstylish or dowdy, while the negative bo2 in (39) negates the existence of the state of being smart and presentable (of a shirt).
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These two negators may modify the same adjective with different meanings, as illustrated by (40) and (41). (40) 水 𣍐 燒 咯 tsui3 bue4 sio1 lɔ0 water cannot hot SFP ‘The water cannot be hot.’ (41) 水 無 燒 咯 tsui3 bo2-4 sio1 lɔ0 water not.have hot SFP ‘The water is not hot.’ In (40), bue4 precedes the adjective sio1 ‘hot’, meaning that the water is not hot and thus would be suitable for drinking. In (41), however, which belongs to a completely different context, bo2-4 sio1 means that the water is cold and thus not suitable for drinking. The negator bue4 can precede the modal auxiliary verb thaŋ1 ‘can’ to form the negative counterpart of the modal auxiliary compound verb e4thaŋ1 會嗵 ‘can’, which often denotes root possibility. An example is given in (42), where the subject (he) cannot go into the house due to lack of a key (i.e. the external physical condition). (42) 無 鎖匙 𣍐嗵 入去 bo2-4 so3-2si2 bue4thaŋ1 liǝp8khɯ0 not.have key cannot go.into ‘(He) has no key and cannot go into (the house).’ Similarly, bue4tsue5𣍐做 ‘cannot’, being the negative form of the modal auxiliary compound verb e4tsue5 會做 ‘can’, normally denotes non-deontic possibility, as in (43), or permission, as in (44). (43) 𣍐做 食 辣其 bue4tsue5-3 tsiaʔ8-4 luaʔ8-e0 cannot eat spicy-NMLZ ‘(I) cannot eat spicy food.’
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(44) 𣍐做 入去 bue4tsue5-3 liǝp8khɯ0 cannot go.into ‘(You) cannot enter (the room).’ In (43), the speaker cannot eat spicy food, due to a sore throat. In other words, bue4tsue5 is used to express the unsuitability of eating spicy food due to an external physical circumstance. In (44), bue4tsue5 is used to denote that the subject is not permitted to enter the room due to some regulation and is thus connected with lack of permission.
13.6 General prohibitive baŋ1 ~ m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵 The general negative imperative baŋ1 ‘do not’ often modifies an action verb phrase to express the wish to stop someone from doing something, as in (45), or to suggest that someone not do something, as in (46). (45) (呣嗵) 共 我 挾 1 5-4 3-2 baŋ ka gua gueʔ7 do.not To 1SG to.pincer ‘Don’t refill my bowl!’ (46) (呣嗵) 摑 捒 baŋ1 kɔk8-4 sak7 do.not throw RVC ‘Don’t throw (it) away.’ The context of example (45) is that the speaker is unhappy about the addressee refilling her bowl all the time. In this case, baŋ1 is used with the intention of stopping the addressee from refilling her bowl again. The context of (46) is that the family is organizing belongings to prepare for a move, during which the speaker finds some things that she wants to keep for the new house. In this context, baŋ1 is used to suggest to the addressee not to throw away the stuff. It is clear that the exact meaning of baŋ1 is determined by the context where it occurs but also the intonation of the speaker may play a role. The negative baŋ1 is the fused form of m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵 ‘do not’, which is composed of the general negative m5 and the modal auxiliary verb thaŋ1. The compound negative m5-4thaŋ1 is nonetheless still in use: in other words, the fused form baŋ1 in both (45) and (46) can be substituted by the compound form m5-4thaŋ1. In
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addition, m5-4thaŋ1 has a variant form, which is m5-4baŋ1. In other words, the fusion process can be represented as m5-4thaŋ1 > m5-4baŋ1> baŋ1. Both the compound form and the fused form are also attested in other Southern Min varieties in Fujian (cf. Zhou 2006; Li 2007).
13.7 ‘Lack of necessity’ imperatives (m5-4)ben3(呣)免 The negatives ben3 免 and m5-4ben3 呣免 mean that there is no need to do anything, as in (47) and (48). (47) 恁 (呣)免 落去 len3 (m5-4)ben3-2 loʔ8khɯ0 2PL no.need go.down ‘You don’t need to go down (there).’ (48) (呣)免 插 伊 (m5-4)ben3-2 tshap7 i0 no.need bother 3SG ‘There is no need to interfere./Leave it alone.’ In (47), the speaker is expressing her opinion that the addressees do not need to go down to a certain place. The context of (48) is that the speaker is unhappy about what her husband is doing with the chicken on the balcony. In this context, m5-4ben3 can be interpreted as functioning more politely to indirectly ask someone not to do something.
13.8 Injunctive negative buan3 As described in Chappell & Peyraube (2016), the injunctive negative enjoins the addressees not to do an action, implying that the outcome might not be beneficial for them or that the action in itself is unwise. This negative is formed by the use of buan3 in Hui’an, as in (49) and (50). (49) 口 口 食 哦 tsiaʔ8 o0 tse2 buan3-2 this need.not eat SFP ‘Don’t eat this.’
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(50) 無 生日 就 口 過 bo2-4 sin1let8 tsiu5-4 buan3-2 kǝ5 not.have birthday then need.not pass ‘If (you) don’t have a birthday, then don’t celebrate it.’ The context of example (49) is that a mother suggests to her daughter that she give up something and eat something better. In (50), the speaker is expressing her opinion that if you do not have a birthday, then it would be wise not to celebrate it. The negative buan3 may be a fused form, though its fusion process is still unclear. In Taiwan, the injunctive negative is expressed by (m22)mo53 (cf. Chappell & Peyraube 2016). It seems that there is no correlation between the negative buan3 in Hui’an and the negative (m22)mo53 in Taiwan.
13.9 Summary This chapter is concerned with negative forms. A comparatively large number of negative markers is attested in Hui’an: two general and volitional negatives m5 呣 and m5-4ai5 呣愛; an existential and perfective negative bo2 無; the immiment negative bǝ5 未 ‘not yet’; the irrealis negative bue4 𣍐 ‘not be able, unlikely’; the general prohibitive baŋ1 呣嗵 and its unfused form m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵; the ‘lack of necessity’ negatives (m5-4)ben3 (呣)免 ‘do not need’ and the injunctive negative buan3 ‘best not to, should not’. Some of these negative forms, such as m5-4 ai5, bue4 and baŋ1~m5-4thaŋ1, function as either adverbs or modal auxiliary verbs. The negative m5 呣 functions as a general negative and often expresses lack of volition on the agent’s part to carry out an action, whereas m5-4ai5 呣愛, functions as a volitional negative. Unlike Mandarin Chinese, adjectives in Hui’an are normally not negated by the general negative m5, but are negated by the perfective negative bo2, by the imminent negative bǝ5 未 ‘not yet’, or by the irrealis negative bue4. The perfective negative bo2 has at least four syntactic uses: (a) it functions as a negative existential and possessive verb; (b) it can precede a verb or an adjective, functioning as a negative adverb; (c) it can follow a verb functioning as a resultative complement; and (d) it can be used alone to negate a proposition. The imminent negative bǝ5 denotes that something has not yet happened, or someone/something has not yet entered into a state. The irrealis negative bue4 can function as a verb meaning ‘not know’, ‘not understand’, or as a modal auxiliary verb expressing inability to carry out an action or the unlikelihood of an event taking place.
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The general prohibitive baŋ1 ‘do not’ is the fused form of m5-4thaŋ1 呣嗵 ‘do not’, which is composed of the general negative m5 and the modal auxiliary verb thaŋ1. The ‘lack of necessity’ imperatives ben3 免 and m5-4ben3 呣免 express that there is no need to do anything. The injunctive negative buan3 enjoins the addresses not to do an action, implying that the outcome might not be beneficial for them or that the action in itself is unwise.
14 Adpositions 14.1 Introduction Adpositions refer to functional or grammatical words which occur before or after a noun phrase and mark the grammatical or semantic relationship of that noun phrase to the predicate head in the sentence (cf. Dryer 2005; Hagège 2010). When occurring before a noun phrase, the adposition is termed ‘preposition’, such as the English preposition on in I put an egg on the kitchen table: on occurs before the noun phrase the kitchen table. While the adposition occurring after a noun phrase is called a ‘postposition’, such as the classical Latin postposition –cum in mecum ‘with me’ (lit. ‘me with’). A less common type is the circumposition, which involves two or more parts, positioned on both sides of the noun phrase, such as English from … on in from now on. Whether there exist postpositions and circumpositions in Chinese is a controversial question in the field of Chinese linguistics. For example, Liu (2003a) argues that there exist both types, and points out that postpositions in Chinese include grammaticalized fāngwèicí 方位詞 (localizer) and attributive markers such as de 的. Sun (2008), however, argues that there are neither postpositions nor circumpositions in Standard Modern Chinese, and that the monosyllabic localizers are actually NP enclitics, rather than postpositions. We basically agree with Liu (2003a) that some localizers in Mandarin Chinese may function like postpositions.1 In this chapter, however, we will focus on prepositions in Hui’an. Generally speaking, prepositions are not commonly used in daily conversation in Hui’an, when compared with prepositions in Mandarin Chinese. Many noun phrases which have to be introduced by a preposition in Mandarin Chinese can be used without any marking in Hui’an, as will be demonstrated in the following sections. The prepositions commonly used in Hui’an are given in Table 14-1 below.
|| 1 However, we doubt that their counterparts in Hui’an can also be interpreted as postpositions, which will be addressed in a separate paper. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-014
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Tab. 14-1: Prepositions in the Hui’an dialect
Prepositions 4
4
Verbal Sense
tɯ /ti 伫 leʔ7 咧 tɯ4/ti4leʔ7 伫咧 lã5
be at (unclear) be at stay
source
an5 按 iɔŋ5/iŋ5 用
stay use
goal
kau5 遘
arrive
Patient
ka5 共 liaʔ8 掠 an5 按 tsiɔŋ1 將
share catch stay take
Agent in passive
khɔ5 與
give
Benefactive
ka5 共 thue5 替 ui5 為
share substitute for do
Comitative
kaʔ7 合 kiau1 交
take care add in
Comparative standard
pi3 比
compare
Instrument
iŋ5 用 an5 按
use stay
Basis
an5 按 tsiau5 照 tsue5 做
stay (unclear) do
Spatial and temporal location relation
14.2 Spatial and temporal relations 14.2.1 Location In Hui’an, the prepositions indicating the location of a person, an object or an action in space include leʔ7 咧2, tɯ4~ti4 伫3, tɯ4leʔ7(or ti4leʔ7) 伫咧 and lã5. The first
|| 2 The character 咧 can be found in previous works such as Zhou (2006), while Li (2000) uses the character 嘞 instead. 3 In some previous works such as Li (2000) and Zhou (2006), the morpheme corresponding to the character 伫 ‘be at’ is regarded as the lexical source of tɯ4/ti4 < ‘be at’, while other previous works such as Yang (1991) uses the character 著 ‘touch’ (see also Li 2000:124-125 for details).
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three prepositions occupy the same position in the sentence: the prepositional phrase in which they occur can either precede or follow a verb phrase. However, leʔ7 is the most commonly used, while tɯ4 or ti4 and tɯ4leʔ7(or ti4leʔ7) are not common nowadays. In the following, we take leʔ7 as an example. (1)
買 咧 對面 bue3 leʔ7-8 tui5-3ben5 buy at opposite ‘(They) bought (a house) opposite ours.’
(2) 阮 媽仔 咧 涼臺 咧 洗 3-2 2 0 7-8 2-4 2 7-8 gun bã -a (leʔ ) iɔŋ tai leʔ sue3-2 1PL mother-NM (at) balcony PROG wash ‘My mother is washing vegetables on the balcony.’
菜 tshai5 vegetable
In (1), the prepositional phrase leʔ7-8 tui5-3ben5 ‘in the opposite’ is preceded by the verb bue3 ‘buy’, while the prepositional phrase leʔ7-8 iɔŋ2-4tai2 ‘on the balcony’ in (2) is followed by the verb phrase leʔ7-8 sue3-2 tshai5 ‘washing vegetables’. Note that the second occurrence of leʔ7 in (2) is a marker of progressive aspect, indicating that the action of washing vegetables is ongoing at the speech time, and is undoubtedly related diachronically to the locative use (see §11.3.1). In terms of semantic meanings, the prepositional phrase that occurs after a verb phrase tends to indicate the destination or final location of a person or an object as the outcome of an event, e.g. the prepositional phrase leʔ7-8 tui5-3ben5 in (1) above denotes the location of the house they bought, and the action of buying the house is independent of its location. The prepositional phrase that occurs before a verb phrase, however, tends to indicate the location in which an action or event takes place, e.g. the prepositional phrase leʔ7-8 iɔŋ2-4tai2 in (2) denotes the location of the action of washing vegetables, that is, the action of washing the vegetables is taking place on the balcony and is not independent of the location. The meaning contrast induced by different orders for the leʔ7 phrase can be explained by the principle of temporal sequence: the location of the family or persons referred to by ‘they’ is determined after the action of buying the new house they will live in, while it is necessary for one to be on the balcony before washing the vegetables there (cf. Tai 1985). These three prepositions can be attested in other Southern Min varieties with subtle differences in their syntactic distributions. For example, in Quanzhou, the preposition tɯ4 can occur both before and after the verb phrase, while leʔ7 and tɯ4leʔ7 can only occur after the verb phrase (cf. Li 2000:124).
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In fact, the prepositional phrase occurring before a verb phrase as in (2) above is not common in Hui’an. The preposition leʔ7 in (2) can be omitted, i.e. forming gun3-2 bã2a0 iɔŋ2-4tai2 leʔ7-8 sue3-2 tshai5 (lit. ‘my mother balcony PROG wash vegetable’). In this case, the locative word iɔŋ2-4tai2 ‘balcony’ functions as a subtopic (see chapter 20). In other words, in Hui’an, the locative word denoting the location of an action or event is normally used alone (without a preposition) in preverbal position. As shown above, the preposition 伫 in Hui’an has two pronunciations, i.e. tɯ4 and ti4. In other Southern Min varieties, however, 伫 normally has only one pronunciation, e.g. tɯ4 is used in Quanzhou, while ti4 is attested in Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwan. The lexeme tɯ4~ ti4 has its source in a verb meaning ‘be at’, as in (3) and (4) below, where the verb tɯ4/ti4 is followed by the locative deictic tsit7-8taʔ7 即搭 ‘here’ in (3), and preceded by the negator bo2 無 ‘not have’ in (4). Note that this usage is very common in the current Hui’an dialect, and represents its most common function. (3) 冊包 伫 即搭 tsheʔ7-8-pau1 tɯ4/ti4 tsit7-8-taʔ7 book-bag be.at this-LOC ‘The schoolbag is here.’ (4) 伊 無 伫 i1 bo2-4 tɯ4/ti4 3SG not.have be.at ‘He is not here.’ Similarly, tɯ4leʔ0(or ti4leʔ0) in Hui’an is often used as a verb meaning ‘be at’, as in (5), where the verb tɯ4leʔ0 is used in a Yes-No polar question. (5) 阿三 有 伫咧 無 tɯ4leʔ0 bo0 a1sã1 u4 PN have be.at SFP ‘Is Ah-San there?’ Note that when followed by a locative as in (3) above, the verb tɯ4~ti4 is more commonly used than tɯ4leʔ0(or ti4leʔ0), while when used alone, the verb tɯ4leʔ0(or ti4leʔ0) is more often used than tɯ4~ti4.
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In Quanzhou and Xiamen, the prepositional phrase containing leʔ7, tɯ4~ti4 and tɯ4leʔ7(or ti4leʔ7) also denotes the location of an action or event in time, as in (6), an example from Xiamen (cf. Li 2000:124; Zhou and Ouyang 1998:381). (6) The preposition ti6 伫 in Xiamen: denoting the location of an event in time 伊 伫 舊年 八九月 破病 i1 ti6-5 ku6-5-ni2 pueʔ7-3-kau3-1-geʔ8 phua5-3pĩ6 3SG at old-year eight-nine-month get.sick ‘He got sick last August or September.’ (Zhou and Ouyang 1998:381) In (6), the prepositional phrase ti6-5 ku6-5ni2 pueʔ7-3kau3-1geʔ8 ‘last August or September’ indicates the time when the event phua5-3pĩ6 ‘get sick’ happens. In Hui’an, however, temporal words and phrases are typically used alone without an adposition, functioning as a subtopic in a sentence, as illustrated by (7) for the temporal phrase ku5-4lin2 pueʔ7-8kau3-2gǝʔ8 ‘last August or September’. (7) The temporal phrase used alone without an adposition in Hui’an 伊 舊年 八九月 破病 i1 ku5-4-lin2 pueʔ7-8-kau3-2-gǝʔ8 phua5-3pin5 3SG old-year eight-nine-month get.sick ‘He got sick last August or September.’ Unlike the prepositions leʔ7, tɯ4~ti4 and tɯ4leʔ7 (or ti4leʔ7), which are found in both preverbal and postverbal positions, the preposition lã5 occurs only before a verb phrase, as in (8), where the prepositional phrase lã5-4 tsit7-8kuin1 ‘in this (room)’ precedes the verb khun5 睏 ‘sleep’, denoting the location of the action khun5 ‘sleep’. Note that this preposition can also be omitted. (8) 我 口 即間 睏 gua3 (lã5-4) tsit7-8-kuin1 khun5 1SG (at) this-CL sleep ‘I sleep in this (room).’ This preposition is also attested in other Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou and Shantou (cf. Li 2000:126; Shi 2000:164-166). As with the Hui’an dialect, lã5 in Quanzhou is typically followed by a locative noun or deictic to form a prepositional phrase, and occurs in preverbal position. In Shantou, however, this preposition occurs both before and after a verb phrase, forming both location and time phrases.
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The preposition lã5 is originally a verb meaning ‘stay’, which can be followed by a locative word, as in (9), or used alone, as in (10), where lã5 takes the locative object tshu5-3lai4 厝裡 ‘home’. (9) 口 厝裡 lã5-4 tshu5-3-lai4 stay house-inside ‘stay at home’ (10) 汝 卜 口, 汝 家 口 咧 lɯ3 boʔ7-8 lã5 lɯ3 kai5-4 lã5 leʔ0 2SG want stay 2SG self stay DUR ‘Stay by yourself, if you want to stay here.’
14.2.2 Source The prepositions denoting the source in space or time include an5 按 and iɔŋ5/iŋ5 用, among which an5 is more commonly used than iɔŋ5/iŋ5. The preposition an5 can indicate the source in space (i.e. the starting place), as in (11), or indicate the source in time (i.e. the starting point in time), as in (12). (11) 按 北京 帶 來 5-3 7-8 1 5 an pak kiã tua lai0 from PN bring come ‘(I) brought (it) from Beijing.’ (12) 按 舊年 開始 工作 an5-3 ku5-4-lin2 khai1si3-2 kaŋ1tsɔk7 from old-year start work ‘begin to work from last year’ In (11), the preposition an5 introduces the place from which I brought something. In (12), the temporal word ku5-4lin2 ‘last year’, preceded by the preposition an5, denotes the time of commencement for kaŋ1tsɔk7 ‘work’. As shown by these two examples, the prepositional phrase an5 occupies a preverbal position, noting that it may be omitted in both cases. In Hui’an, an5 is a multifunctional morpheme: it not only denotes the source in space or time as in (11) and (12) above, but also takes on other functions, as will
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be shown in the following (§14.2.4 and 14.3). This preposition is also attested in other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen and Quanzhou (Li 2000; Zhou 2006). In addition, Li (2000:127) mentions that the morpheme, cognate with an5 can function as a verb meaning ‘stay’ in the suburban areas of Quanzhou, which may suggest that the preposition an5 is probably derived from this use. Unlike an5, the preposition iɔŋ5/iŋ5 is normally used to introduce a locative source, as illustrated by (13) and (14). (13) 用 北京 倒來 iɔŋ5-4/iŋ5-4 pak7-8kiã1 to5lai0 from PN come.back ‘come back from Beijing’ (14) 用 即搭 去 iɔŋ5-4/iŋ5-4 tsit7-8-taʔ7 khɯ5-3 from this-LOC go ‘go to Quanzhou from here’
泉州 tsuan2-4tsiu1 PN
As with an5, the prepositional phrase to which iɔŋ5/iŋ5 belongs is placed before the verb phrase, such as to5lai0 ‘come back’ in (13) and khɯ5-3 tsuan2-4tsiu1 ‘go to Quanzhou’ in (14). Note that in these two examples the preposition iɔŋ5/iŋ5 is omissible. In his study on prepositions in Southern Min, Li (2000:126) also remarks on the special use of the preposition iŋ in Hui’an denoting the source. Hence, this usage may be distinctive of the Hui’an dialect, while it is probably derived from the verb iŋ5 用 meaning ‘use’, as in (15). (15) 錢 我 用 了 咯 gua3 iŋ5-4 liau3 lɔ0 tsin2 money 1SG use finish SFP ‘I have used up the money.’ As will be mentioned in the following, the preposition an5 in Hui’an can be used to introduce an instrument, which is also a function of the preposition iŋ5. This means that the prepositions an5 and iŋ5 in Hui’an overlap in at least these two of their functions – those of denoting the source and instrument. Thus, it is not impossible that the use of the preposition iŋ5 to code source is derived from its use as a verb meaning ‘use’, though this may be uncommon in other languages (cf. Heine & Kuteva 2002).
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As shown above, the preposition 用 in Hui’an has another pronunciation, i.e. iɔŋ5. This pronunciation is typically used by the younger generation and thus may be a reading pronunciation, since it is closer to that of Mandarin. Note also that this pronunciation has been attested in Zhangzhou (Zhou 2006:444).
14.2.3 Goal In this section, we will focus on prepositions introducing the goal in space or time: leʔ7 咧 and kau5 遘. As mentioned in §14.2.1, when following a verb phrase, the prepositional phrase where leʔ7 occurs can denote the location of a person or an object, independent of the action, as illustrated by example (1) above, which focuses on the stative location of a house. In other cases, however, the preposition leʔ7 is used to indicate the spatial goal of an action, as in (16) below, where the locative word et7-8tiɔŋ1 一中 ‘No.1 Middle School’ is the goal of the action khɔ̃ 3 考 ‘take an exam’. (16) 考 咧 一中 khɔ̃ 3 leʔ7-8 et7-8-tiɔŋ1 take.exam To one-middle.school ‘(He) enters the No.1 Middle School by taking an entrance exam.’ Similarly, when following a verb phrase, kau5 遘, originally a verb meaning ‘arrive’, can function as a preposition introducing the spatial goal of the action, peʔ7 (足百) ‘climb’, as in (17), that is, to reach pueʔ7-8lau2 八樓 ‘the eighth floor’. (17) (足百) 遘 八樓 7 5-3 peʔ kau pueʔ7-8-lau2 climb arrive eight-floor ‘climb to the eighth floor’ As shown by the following example, when following a verb phrase, the preposition kau5 can also introduce the goal in time, that is, the endpoint in time. (18) 拖 遘 明年 1 5-3 bua͂ 2-4-lin2 thua kau delay arrive next-year ‘delay until next year’
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The phrase consisting of kau5 and a locative or temporal word can also occur before a verb phrase, as illustrated by (19) and (20). (19) 遘 樓骹 拄 著 kau5-3 lau2-4kha1 tu3 tioʔ0 arrive downstairs meet PVC ‘(I) ran into (him) when (I) arrived downstairs.’ (20) 撮 菜 遘 明日 否食 咯 tsuai2 tshai5 kau5-3 biã2-4let8 phai3-2-tsiaʔ8 lɔ0 these dish arrive tomorrow bad-eat SFP ‘These dishes will taste bad, if they are left until tomorrow.’ Unlike example (17) above, the preposition kau5 in (19) does not introduce the spatial goal of the event, encoded by its following verb phrase tu3 tioʔ0 ‘run into (someone)’ but rather where the chance encounter takes place. In fact, kau5 can be interpreted as introducing the spatial goal for an implied motion event of the subject, while at the same time denoting the location where the event of running into someone takes place. In (20), kau5 introduces a goal in time (i.e. biã2-4let8 ‘tomorrow’) for the event ‘keeping the dishes uneaten’, which in turn functions as the reference time for describing the state of the dishes, that is, the dishes will taste bad. It is clear that the phrase consisting of kau5 and a locative or temporal word bears different semantic properties when following and preceding a verb phrase. In the case of preceding a verb phrase, such as in (19) and (20), kau5 seems to function more like a verb, rather than a preposition. A typical example of kau5 as a verb is given in (21). (21) 儂 遘, 檔案 未 遘 kau5 tɔŋ5-3an5 bǝ5-4 kau5 laŋ2 person arrive archive not.yet arrive ‘The person has arrived, but the archive has not yet arrived.’
14.2.4 Perlative As mentioned in §14.2.2, the preposition an5 can be used to introduce a source in space or time. The following example, however, shows that an5 can also introduce the place where someone or something passes through, known as a perlative use.
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(22) 按 門口 經過 an5-3 bŋ2-4-khau3 kiŋ1kǝ5 from door-mouth pass ‘pass through the door’ In (22), the prepositional phrase an5-3 bŋ2-4khau3 ‘from the door’ occurs before the verb kiŋ1kǝ5 ‘pass’ denoting the place through which someone passes, rather than the source or goal in space.
14.3 Patient In Mandarin Chinese, a patient is normally introduced by the prepositions bǎ 把 and jiāng 將, with a structure of ‘(NPAGENT +) bǎ/jiāng + NPPATIENT + VP’, as in (23) and (24). (23) Mandarin Chinese: (NPAGENT +) bǎ + NPPATIENT + VP 把 門 關 上 bǎ mén guān shang OM door close up ‘Close the door.’ (24) Mandarin Chinese: (NPAGENT +) jiāng + NPPATIENT + VP 他 將 錢 交 給 了 我 tā jiāng qián jiāo gěi le wǒ 3SG OM money hand.over give PFV 1SG ‘He has handed over the money to me.’ In (23), the patient mén ‘door’ is preceded by the preposition bǎ, and the prepositional phrase bǎ mén occurs before the verb phrase guān shang ‘close up’. Similarly, the patient qián ‘money’ in (24) is introduced by the preposition jiāng, and the prepositional phrase jiāng qián is followed by the verb phrase jiāo gěi le wǒ ‘have handed over to me’. Sentences involving a preposition introducing a patient (also called ‘patient marker’ or ‘object marker’) such as bǎ and jiāng in (23) and (24) are termed chǔzhìshì 處置式 ‘disposal constructions’ (or ‘object marking constructions’) in Chinese linguistics (cf. Wang 1984b). The preposition jiāng is more formal than bǎ in contemporary Mandarin Chinese. In Hui’an, however, a patient is typically used alone as a subtopic without any adposition, as in (25), where the patient, bŋ2 門 ‘door’, is preceded by the subject gua3 我 ‘I’ and followed by the verb phrase kuin1 liau3 關了 ‘have closed’.
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This construction has the form SOV (see chapter 20 for more details on patients as subtopics in SOV constructions). (25) The Hui’an dialect: the patient used alone without an adposition 我 門 關 了 咯 gua3 bŋ2 kuin1 liau3 lɔ0 1SG door close finish SFP ‘I have closed the door.’ This does not mean that there are no overt markers introducing a patient in Hui’an. In fact, there is a series of such prepositions, e.g. ka5 共, liaʔ8 搦, an5 按 and tsiɔŋ1 將, of which ka5, liaʔ8 and an5 are used in daily conversation, while tsiɔŋ1 is mainly found via elicitation. Furthermore, ka5 is much more common than liaʔ8 and an5. The prepositional phrase containing these four prepositions is consistently placed before the verb phrase, as will be shown by the examples below. Unlike Mandarin Chinese, the object marking construction with the preposition ka5 in Hui’an normally involves a structure of ‘(NPAGENT +) NPPATIENT + ka5 + i1(3SG) + VP’, as in (26). (26) The Hui’an dialect: (NPAGENT +) NPPATIENT + ka5 + i1(3SG) + VP 門 共 伊 關 (起來) bŋ2 ka5-4 i1 kuin1 khai0 door OM 3SG close RVC ‘Close the door.’ In (26), the patient bŋ2 ‘door’ occurs before the preposition ka5 functioning as a topic, and the third person singular pronoun i1 follows the preposition ka5, serving as a resumptive pronoun referring to the patient bŋ2 ‘door’. This corresponds to one of the five types of ‘disposal’ or object marking construction identified in Chappell (2007, 2013). Note that ka5-4 i1 has a contracted form, i.e. ka1, which adopts the tone of the pronoun i1. Syntactically speaking, ka5 is used to introduce the pronoun i1, which is co-referential with the patient (syntactically the topic) bŋ2. Thus, ka5 is regarded as a preposition, rather than as a postposition. The patient noun phrase can also be placed after the preposition ka5, as in (27), where the patient noun bŋ2 門 ‘door’ occurs after ka5. Note, however, that this is seldom used in daily conversation, though it is acceptable.
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(27) The Hui’an dialect: (NPAGENT +) ka5 + NPPATIENT + VP 共 門 關 (起來) ka5-4 bŋ2 kuin1 khai0 OM door close RVC ‘Close the door.’ The preposition ka5 may even co-occur with the preposition tsiɔŋ1 in the same sentence, as in (28). (28) The Hui’an dialect: (NPAGENT +) tsiɔŋ1 + NPPATIENT + ka5 + i1(3SG) + VP 將 門 共 伊 關 (起來) 1 2 5-4 1 1 tsiɔŋ bŋ ka i kuin khai0 OM door OM 3SG close RVC ‘Close the door.’ In (28), the patient noun bŋ2 ‘door’ is introduced by the preposition tsiɔŋ1, and the resumptive pronoun i1, being co-referential with the patient noun bŋ2, is introduced by the preposition ka5. Finally, in a fourth variation of the disposal construction, we find the preposition tsiɔŋ1 used alone, with a structure of ‘(NPAGENT +) tsiɔŋ1 + NPPATIENT +VP’, as illustrated by (29). Note that tsiɔŋ1 has a similar use in more formal registers of Mandarin Chinese. (29) The Hui’an dialect: (NPAGENT +) tsiɔŋ1 + NPPATIENT + VP 將 門 關 (起來) tsiɔŋ1 bŋ2 kuin1 khai0 OM door close RVC ‘Close the door.’ Note that ka5 is a multifunctional morpheme (see chapter 16 for more details). This morpheme is also attested in quite a large number of other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, and in the Eastern Min variety of Fuzhou (see Chappell 2007, 2013). There are evidently subtle differences in pronunciation, e.g. it is pronounced as ka6 in Zhangzhou and kaŋ5 in Quanzhou (cf. Wang and Zhang 1994:137; Zhou 2006:459; Yang 1991:259). The prepositions liaʔ8 and an5 can be attested in daily conversations in the contemporary Hui’an dialect, though they are less common than the preposition ka5. These two prepositions are placed before the patient noun phrase, like Mandarin Chinese, as illustrated by (30) and (31).
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(30) The Hui’an dialect: (NPAGENT +) liaʔ8 + NPPATIENT + VP 搦 我 罵 liaʔ8-4 gua3-2 ba͂ 5 OM 1SG scold ‘(He) scolded me.’ (31) The Hui’an dialect: (NPAGENT +) an5 + NPPATIENT + VP 按 所有 問 清楚 an5-3 sɔ3-2u4 bŋ5-4 tshiŋ1tshɔ3 OM all ask clear ‘Make all things clear.’ In (30), the patient gua3 follows the preposition liaʔ8, and the prepositional phrase liaʔ8-4 gua3 occurs before the verb ba͂ 5 ‘scold’. This example shows that the object marking construction with the preposition liaʔ8 can involve a bare verb (such as the verb ba͂ 5). This is not acceptable in most object marking constructions in Chinese (see also Teng 1982). For example, object marking constructions in Mandarin Chinese require a more complex verb phrase such as guān shang ‘close up’ in (23) and jiāo gěi le wǒ ‘have handed over to me’ in (24), rather than a bare verb. In (31), the patient noun sɔ3-2u4 ‘all’ is preceded by another preposition with the same function, an5, and this prepositional phrase an5-3 sɔ3-2u4 occurs before the verb phrase bŋ5-4 tshiŋ1tshɔ3 ‘make clear’. As shown by the following two examples, liaʔ8 has its source in a verb meaning ‘catch, take’. Notably, it can be found in early Southern Min texts such as the 16th century Li Jing Ji operas in this very function of an object marker (see Lai 2019), as also exemplified by (30) above. (32) 明日 搦 去 賣 捒 biã2-4let8 liaʔ8 khɯ5-3 bue4 sak7 tomorrow catch go sell RVC ‘Take (the chicken) to sell (it) tomorrow.’ (33) 伊 說 搦 幾落 個 i1 sǝʔ7-8 liaʔ8 kui3-2loʔ8-4 e2 3SG say catch quite.a few CL ‘He said quite a few (persons) have been caught.’
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The verb liaʔ8 can be used without restrictions with a patient noun denoting animals such as the chicken in (32), or with a patient noun denoting persons as in (33).
14.4 Agent The preposition used to introduce an agent in Hui’an passives is khɔ5 與, as in (34). (34) NPPATIENT + khɔ5 與 + NPAGENT + VP 冊 與 儂 買 去 7 5-4 4 3 tsheʔ khɔ laŋ bue khɯ0 book give other buy RVC ‘The book has been bought by other people.’ In (34), khɔ5, originally a verb meaning ‘give’, functions as a passive marker (or agent marker) introducing the agent i1 ‘he’. Note that the agent here cannot be omitted, that is, the preposition khɔ5 in Hui’an cannot be used in agentless passives. This is different from the preposition bèi 被 in Mandarin Chinese, which by way of contrast can be so used, as in (35). (35) The agentless passive in Mandarin Chinese: NPPATIENT + bèi 被 + VP 房子 被 燒 了 fángzi bèi shāo le house PASS burn PFV ‘The house was burnt down.’ An example of khɔ5 as a ‘give’ verb is given in (36). (36) 與 伊 蜀 tsit8-4 khɔ5 i0 give 3SG one ‘give him a cent’
分 錢 hun1 tsin2 cent money
Apart from this lexical use as a ‘give’ verb, in Hui’an, khɔ5 takes on a series of functions such as the causative verb, the dative marker and the speaker-affectedness marker (see chapter 18 for more details). In terms of pronunciation, the prepositions used to introduce an agent in other Southern Min varieties (such as Quanzhou, Xiamen and Taiwan) include hɔ 與, thɔ 度, tŋ 傳 and khi 乞, of which hɔ is mainly used in Xiamen, Zhangzhou and
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Taiwan; thɔ is mainly used in Quanzhou, but also Xiamen; tŋ is only used in Quanzhou; while khi is used in different Southern Min varieties (cf. Li 2000:129; Zhou & Ouyang 1998:382; Yang 1991:259; Shi 2000:159; Chappell 2000). All these four prepositions are also derived from their uses as a ‘give’ verb. A question arises: what is the relationship between these four prepositions and the preposition khɔ5 in Hui’an? Firstly, the morpheme tŋ is also attested in Hui’an, however, it does not function as an agent marker. The preposition khɔ5 in Hui’an is quite similar to hɔ and thɔ (especially hɔ) in terms of their pronunciations: they share the final (i.e. ɔ) and belong to the same tone category4. However, there is no general sound correspondence between [kh] in Hui’an and [h] in Taiwan. Interestingly, Zhou (2006:102,114-115) suggests that thɔ is a more conservative form of hɔ, i.e. thɔ -> hɔ. So far, we believe that it would be safer to say that khɔ in Hui’an and thɔ or hɔ in other Southern Min varieties are cognates, though further research is needed.
14.5 Benefactive In Mandarin Chinese, the ‘give’ verb can function as a preposition introducing a benefactive, as in (37), or a malefactive, as in (38). (37) The preposition gěi introducing a benefactive in Mandarin Chinese 他 給 我 翻譯 tā gěi wǒ fānyì 3SG give 1SG translate ‘He translated for me.’ (38) The preposition gěi introducing a malefactive in Mandarin Chinese 你 給 我 算 錯 了 nǐ gěi wǒ suàn cuò le 2SG give 1SG count wrong PFV ‘You made a mistake on me in the accounting.’ The first person singular pronoun wǒ in (37) acts as the beneficiary, and codes the person who benefits from the action of translating, while the pronoun wǒ in (38) acts as the maleficiary, who is harmed by the event of making a mistake in the accounts. || 4 Tone 5 in Mainland notation for Hui’an and Quanzhou corresponds to Tone 7 in Taiwan.
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Unlike Mandarin Chinese, the Hui’an dialect uses ka5 共, rather than khɔ5 ‘give’, to code respectively the benefactive, as in (39), and the malefactive, as in (40). (39) The preposition ka5 coding the benefactive in Hui’an 共 𪜶 出 錢 ka5-4 en1 tshut7-8 tsin2 BEN 3PL take.out money ‘pay for them’ (40) The preposition ka5 coding the malefactive in Hui’an 伊 杯仔 共 我 拍 破 i1 pue1-a3 ka5-4 gua3-2 phaʔ7-8 phua5 3SG cup-NM MAL 1SG hit broken ‘He broke the cup on me.’ In addition to ka5, in Hui’an, there are another two prepositions serving as benefactive markers, i.e. thue5 替, as in (41), and ui5 爲, as in (42). (41) 替 汝 說 thue5-3 lɯ3-2 sǝʔ7 replace 2SG say ‘speak for/instead of you’ (42) 為 逐個 服務 ui5-4 tak8-4-e2 hɔk8-4bu5 for every-CL serve ‘serve for everyone’s sake’ These two prepositions are much less used than the preposition ka5. In addition, ui5 is seldom used in daily conversation, that is, it is typically used in formal speech.
14.6 Comitative The prepositions introducing the comitative role in Hui’an are kaʔ7 合 and kiau1 交, as in (43) and (44), respectively.
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(43) 我 合 伊 做做 去 gua3 kaʔ7-8 i1 tsue5-3tsue5 khɯ5 1SG COMT 3SG together go ‘I went (there) together with him.’ (44) 交 伊 煮 kiau1 i1 tsɯ3 COMT 3SG cook ‘cook (something) together with it’ The preposition kaʔ7 in (43) is much more common in daily conversation than the preposition kiau1 in (44). In Hui’an, kaʔ7 can also function as a conjunction (see §21.2 for details). The preposition kiau1 is probably derived from its use as a verb meaning ‘add in’, as in (45). (45) 交 幾 垛 肉 kiau1 kui3-2 tǝ5-3 baʔ7 add several CL meat ‘add in several pieces of meat’ The development from a comitative to a NP conjunction is well-attested in Chinese, not to mention crosslinguistically (see Liu Jian & Peyraube 1994; Heine & Kuteva 2002:80-82) while we find the use of verbs meaning ‘mix’ as comitatives in Hakka as well (see Lai 2003).
14.7 Standard of comparison As with Mandarin Chinese, the preposition for comparison in Hui’an is pi3 比, as in (46), where the third person singular pronoun following the preposition pi3 functions as a standard of comparison. (46) 比 伊 恰 pi3-2 i1 khaʔ7-8 DMC 3SG HMC ‘prettier than her’
水 sui3 pretty
It is likely that the preposition pi3 as in (46) is borrowed from Mandarin Chinese, since the indigenous comparative construction in Hui’an, as in (47), does not use
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the preposition pi3 but rather an adverbial form khaʔ7, also present (obligatorily) in the construction with pi3 (see chapter 17 for details, Chen 2015). (47) 今年 恰 寒 舊年 kuã2 ku5-4-lin2 ken1-lin2 khaʔ7-8 this-year comparatively cold old-year ‘This year is colder than last year.’ In (47), the standard of comparison ku4lin2 ‘last year’ follows the main predicate kua͂ 2 ‘cold’ without using the preposition pi3 as in (46) above.
14.8 Instrument As mentioned in §14.2.2 above, the prepositions iŋ5 and an5, which can introduce a source, are also used to introduce an instrument, as illustrated by (48) and (49), respectively. (48) [iŋ5 NP]PP - VP 用 奇箸 食 iŋ5-4 kha1tɯ5 tsiaʔ8 use chopsticks eat ‘eat with chopsticks’ (49) [an5 NP]PP - VP 按 喙 咧 講話 an5-3 tshui5 leʔ7-8 kaŋ3-2-ue5 with mouth HAB say-word ‘speak with the mouth’ In (48), the noun kha1tɯ5 ‘chopsticks’ preceded by the preposition iŋ5 functions as the instrument for carrying out the action denoted by the verb tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’. Similarly, the noun tshui3 ‘mouth’ following the preposition an5 in (49) functions as the means for the action of the verb phrase leʔ7-8 kaŋ3-2ue5 ‘speak’ to be realized. As with the majority of prepositions discussed so far, the prepositional phrase where iŋ5 and an5 occur is placed before the verb phrase, as shown by (48) and (49) above. Note that the preposition an5 introducing an instrument is not reported in other Southern Min varieties, while the preposition iŋ5 can be attested in Quanzhou and Taiwan (cf. Li 2000:131; Yang 1991:258).
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14.9 Basis The prepositions meaning ‘according to’ in Hui’an include an5 按, tsue5 做 and tsiau5 照, as shown by examples (50) – (52). (50) 按 無 同 工齡 bo2-4 saŋ2-4 kaŋ1-liŋ2 an5-3 according.to not.have same work-age ‘according to different working years’ (51) 做 兩 碗 煮 tsue5-3 lŋ4 uã3 tsɯ3 according.to two bowl cook ‘cook according to two bowls’ (52) 照 大 細 排 tsiau5-3 tua5-4 sue5 pai2 according.to big small place ‘place (them) according to the size’ The prepositions an5 in (50) and tsue5 in (51) are relatively more common than tsiau5 in (52) in daily conversation. As mentioned above, the preposition an5 introducing a patient or an instrument is not reported in other Southern Min varieties. However, its use in the meaning of ‘according to’ can indeed be found in varieties such as Quanzhou and Xiamen (Li 2000:132; Zhou 2006:387). Similarly, the preposition tsiau5 is common in other Southern Min varieties, while their use of the preposition tsue5 is not reported. The following example shows that tsue5 is originally a verb meaning ‘do’. (53) 無 代志 做 tai5-4tsi5-3 tsue5 bo2-4 not.have thing do ‘have nothing to do’
14.10 Summary This chapter has examined in depth adpositions, especially prepositions, in Hui’an, while noting that for the time being the existence of postpositions and
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circumpositions is a controversial question. Comparatively speaking, prepositions in Hui’an are not commonly used in daily conversation. Many noun phrases which have to be introduced by a preposition in Mandarin Chinese can be used without any marking in Hui’an. The prepositions indicating location in space include leʔ7 咧, tɯ4 or ti4 伫, 4 tɯ leʔ7(or ti4leʔ7) 伫咧 and lã5. The first three prepositions occur both before and after a verb phrase, whereas lã5 occurs only preverbally. Temporal words are typically used alone without any marking by an adposition. The preposition leʔ7 is also used to introduce spatial goals. Another preposition indicating spatial goals is kau5 遘, which can also denote temporal goals. The prepositions denoting source are an5 按 and iɔŋ5/iŋ5 用, neither of which is in fact required in this function in Hui’an. The preposition an5 indicates the source in space or time, while iɔŋ5/iŋ5 typically denotes only locative source. In Hui’an, an5 is a multifunctional morpheme, taking on other functions such as marking perlative, patient, instrument and basis. The preposition iɔŋ5/iŋ5 is also used to introduce an instrument, while there are two further prepositions indicating basis: tsue5 做 and tsiau5 照. In Hui’an, the patient is generally used without any marking by an adposition, though a series of object markers is indeed attested, such as ka5 共, liaʔ8 搦, an5 按 and tsiɔŋ1 將. Unlike the syntactic structure using preposition bǎ 把 in Mandarin Chinese, the preposition ka5 in Hui’an is typically used with a different form for the object marking construction: (NPAGENT +) NPPATIENT + ka5 + i1(3SG) + VP, or it may co-occur with tsiɔŋ1 in the same clause, that is, ‘(NPAGENT +) tsiɔŋ1 + NPPATIENT + ka5 + i1(3SG) + VP’. The preposition ka5 also functions as a benefactive and malefactive marker. The agent marker in Hui’an is encoded by a preposition derived from the verb khɔ5 與 ‘give’, which cannot be used in agentless passives. The prepositions coding comitative meaning in Hui’an are either kaʔ7 合 or kiau1 交, of which, kaʔ7 also functions as a conjunction, while kiau1 is probably derived from its use as a verb meaning ‘add in’. The preposition for comparison of inequality in Hui’an is pi3 比. However, the indigenous comparative construction in Hui’an does not use the preposition pi3 at all but rather an adverbial form khaʔ7, also present (obligatorily) in the construction with pi3.
15 Adverbs 15.1 Introduction Adverbs are traditionally regarded as a class of words that function as modifiers of primarily non-nominal constitutents (cf. van der Auwera & O’Baoill 1998; Schachter & Shopen 2007, among others).1 Semantically speaking, adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree and modal meanings such as the level of certainty. In Mandarin Chinese, adverbs typically occur after the subject or topic, and preceding the verb which they modify, as in (1); some adverbs, however, can also occur at the beginning of the sentence, as in (2b) (Li & Thompson 1981:319-322). (1)
Adverbs occurring after the subject in Mandarin Chinese 他 很 帥 tā hěn shuài 3SG very handsome ‘He is very handsome.’
(2) Adverbs that can occur at the beginning of the sentence in Mandarin Chinese a. 張三 顯然 不 高興 Zhāng Sān xiǎnrán bù gāoxìng PN obviously not happy ‘Obviously, Zhang San is unhappy.’ b. 顯然 張三 不 高興 xiǎnrán Zhāng Sān bù gāoxìng obviously PN not happy ‘Obviously, Zhang San is unhappy.’ The degree adverb hěn ‘very’ in (1), modifying the adjectival predicate shuài ‘handsome’, occurs after the subject tā ‘he’, and has just the predicate in its scope, while the attitude adverb xiǎnrán ‘obviously’, modifying the whole sentence Zhāng Sān bù gāoxìng ‘Zhang San is unhappy’, can occur after the subject Zhāng
|| 1 Contemporary linguists such as Jackendoff (1972) have noted that the category ‘adverb’ has traditionally been a catch-all term, classifying words that do not fit into any of the other available categories such as nouns and adjectives. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-015
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Sān, as in (2a), or occur at the beginning of the sentence, as in (2b). The scope relations are clearly distinct for these two classes of adverbs. As with Mandarin Chinese, most adverbs in Hui’an typically modify the predicate and occur after the subject or topic. These include manner, degree, and time adverbs, but also adverbs of quantity and scope. Other adverbs such as attitude and epistemic adverbs modify a whole sentence and occur either after the subject (or topic) or in the sentence-initial position. These five subtypes of adverb in Hui’an will be examined in the following sections.
15.2 Manner adverbs Manner adverbs, typically used as modifiers of verb phrases, usually indicate the manner in which an action is carried out, as exemplified by (3), where thiau1kaŋ1 超工 ‘especially, deliberately’ modifies the verb phrase thueʔ8 lai0 摕來 ‘bring’ by indicating its manner. (3) 伊 超工 摕 來 i1 thiau1kaŋ1 thueʔ8 lai0 3SG deliberately take come ‘She came here deliberately for giving (me the money).’ There is a subclass of manner adverbs formed via reduplication of an adjective, as illustrated by (4), where the adverb ho3-2ho3 好好 ‘well’ is formed by reduplication of the adjective ho3 ‘good’ (see also §9.3.1). (4) 論文 好好 寫 5-4 2 3-2 3 sia3 lun bun ho ~ho thesis good~good write ‘Write (your) thesis seriously.’ Like thiau1kaŋ1 in (3), ho3-2ho3 in (4) occurs before the verb sia3 ‘write’ indicates the manner in which the action of writing a thesis is carried out. The following example shows that manner adverbs in Hui’an can also be formed via reduplication of a verb, in this case, tsue5 ‘do’. (5) 𪜶 做做 來 en1 tsue5-3tsue5 lai2 3PL together come ‘They came here together.’
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In (5), tsue5-3tsue5 ‘together’ modifies the motion verb lai2 ‘come’ signaling the manner of their coming. As shown by these three examples, manner adverbs in Hui’an occur between the subject (or the topic) and the verb phrase. More specifically, in both (3) and (5), the manner adverb occurs between the subject and the verb phrase. For example, thiau1kaŋ1 in (3) is placed between the subject i1 ‘she’ and the verb phrase thuǝʔ8 lai0 ‘bring’. The manner adverb ho3-2ho3 in (4), however, occurs between the topicalized patient (or direct object) noun, lun5-4bun2 ‘thesis’, and the verb sia3 ‘write’.
15.3 Degree adverbs Degree adverbs fall into two types: (a) those indicating the degree without an explicit comparison, e.g. khaʔ7 恰 ‘a bit; fairly’, pi3-2kau5 比較 ‘fairly’, a4koʔ7 也佫 ‘fairly’, ia3 野 ‘quite’, ban2 蠻 ‘rather’, tsiã2 誠 ‘rather’, tsen1 真 ‘really/very’, thai5 太 ‘too’ and kǝ5 過 ‘excessively’; and (b) those denoting comparison (between two or more entities), e.g. khaʔ7 恰 ‘comparatively’, koʔ7-8khaʔ7 佫恰 ‘even more’ and siɔŋ5 上/tsue5 最 ‘the most’.
15.3.1 Basic degree adverbs This type of degree adverb modifies adjectives including monosyllabic and disyllabic ones, or their negative forms. Take ia3 ‘quite’ and ban2 ‘rather’ as examples. (6) 野/蠻 久 3-2 2-4 ku3 ia /ban quite/rather Long ‘quite/rather long’ (7) 野/蠻 厲害 ia3-2/ban2-4 li5-4hai5 quite/rather smart ‘quite/rather smart’ (8) 野/蠻 無 容易 ia3-2/ban2-4 bo2-4 iɔŋ2-4i5 quite/rather not.have easy ‘really not easy’
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In (6) and (7), the degree adverbs ia3 ‘quite’ and ban2 ‘rather’ modify the monosyllabic adjective ku3 ‘long’ and the disyllabic adjective li5-4hai5 ‘smart’, respectively. In (8), ia3 ‘quite’ and ban2 ‘rather’ are used to modify bo2-4 iɔŋ2-4i5 ‘not easy’, the negative form of the adjective iɔŋ2-4i5 ‘easy’. The degree adverb khaʔ7 can mean ‘a bit; fairly’, as illustrated by (9) and (10). (9) 湯 恰 無 甜 1 7-8 2-4 khaʔ bo tin1 thŋ soup a.bit not.have sweet ‘The soup is not tasty enough.’ (10) 汝 著 恰 主動 lɯ3 tioʔ8-4 khaʔ7-8 tsu3-2tɔŋ4 2SG should fairly active ‘You need to be fairly active.’ In (9), the adverb khaʔ7 modifies bo2-4 tin1 ‘not sweet’ (the negative form of the adjective tin1 ‘sweet’) denoting the degree of tastiness of the soup, i.e. between tasty and non-tasty, but approaching tasty, which suggests that adding a bit, but not too much salt is enough. In this case, the speaker is talking about the degree of tastiness of the soup according to his expectation about what constitutes the right level of saltiness, i.e. some more abstract benchmark based on experience, rather than comparing the soup with other soups that might be physically present in the given context (or other objects) in terms of their degrees of tastiness. In (10), khaʔ7 modifies the adjective tsu3-2tɔŋ4 ‘active’ implying that the activeness of the subject should achieve a certain degree, otherwise the subject cannot get what he wants. According to the context, the speaker is either suggesting the need for the addressee to take some initiative in doing something, rather than directly comparing the addressee with other people in terms of degrees of activeness, or else is suggesting that the addressee is not as active as he could be. The adverb pi3-2kau5, as illustrated by (11), is probably borrowed from Mandarin Chinese. It is not widely used in Hui’an and typically occurs in the speech of the younger generation. (11) 比較 開朗 3-2 5-3 pi kau khai1lɔŋ3 fairly optimistic ‘fairly optimistic’
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These implicitly comparative degree adverbs differ from each other in the degree they denote, as can be seen from the translation. Note that, however, the translation only shows that the difference among these adverbs is similar to the difference among the degree adverbs a bit, fairly, quite, rather, really/very, too, excessively in English, but not that the adverbs in Hui’an are equivalent to the corresponding English adverbs.
15.3.2 Comparative degree adverbs As mentioned in §15.3.1 above, khaʔ7 can be a degree adverb meaning ‘a bit; fairly’ without indicating an explicit comparison. The following example, however, shows that khaʔ7 may also denote a comparison between two or more entities. (12) 即間 恰 熱 7-8 1 7-8 luaʔ8 tsit -kuin khaʔ this-CL comparatively hot ‘This room is hotter (than that room).’ In (12), khaʔ7 modifies the adjective luaʔ8 ‘hot’ indicating that this room is hotter than the other room. In other words, khaʔ7 here functions as a marker of overt comparison (see chapter 17 for more on comparative constructions). The adverb khaʔ7 can modify the reduplicated form of an adjective such as 3-2 siŋ siŋ3 省省 ‘cheap’ in (13). (13) 暝時 恰 省省 khaʔ7-8 siŋ3-2~siŋ3 bin2-si0 night-time comparatively cheap~cheap ‘(The flight) is cheaper at night (than during the day).’ In (13), siŋ3-2siŋ3 is the reduplicated form of the adjective siŋ3 ‘cheap’, and the adverb khaʔ7 modifies siŋ3-2siŋ3 signaling that the flight is cheaper at night than during the day. Note that in some other Chinese varieties such as Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese, reduplicated forms cannot be so modified. The following example shows that the adverb khaʔ7 can also modify another word in the same speech category, such as the adverb of frequency siɔŋ2 常 ‘often’.
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(14) 伊 恰 常 倒來 i1 khaʔ7-8 siɔŋ2-4 to5lai0 3SG comparatively often come.back ‘He comes back more often (than me).’ The adverb khaʔ7 can also precede a negator, as illustrated by (15) and (16). (15) 即蕊 恰 無 芳 bo2-4 phaŋ1 tsit7-8-lui3 khaʔ7-8 this-CL comparatively not.have fragrant ‘This (flower) is less fragrant (than that one).’ (16) 恰 𣍐 走 khaʔ7-8 bue4 tsau3 comparatively cannot run ‘(There is) less (opportunity for the chicken to) run away.’ In (15), bo2-4 phaŋ1 ‘not fragrant’ is the negative form of the adjective phaŋ1 ‘fragrant’, which is modified by the adverb khaʔ7 to indicate that this flower is less fragrant than the other flowers. In (16), bue4 tsau3 ‘cannot run away’ is the negative form of e4 tsau3 會走 ‘can run away’, and the adverb khaʔ7 modifies bue4 tsau3 to signal that there is less opportunity for the chicken to run away. The adverb koʔ7-8khaʔ7 佫恰 ‘even more’ shares its syntactic distribution with the adverb khaʔ7 恰. In other words, koʔ7-8khaʔ7 can occur in all the contexts shown by examples (12) – (16) above. One example is given in (17). (17) 即間 佫恰 熱 7-8 1 7-8 7-8 tsit -kuin koʔ khaʔ luaʔ8 this-CL even.more hot ‘This (room) is even hotter (than that room).’ The adverbs siɔŋ5 上 and tsue5 最 ‘the most’ are followed by an adjective to denote a superlative degree, as in (18). (18) 上/最 好 5-4 5-3 siɔŋ /tsue ho3 the.most/the.most good ‘the best’
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Note that siɔŋ5 is the traditional superlative marker, while tsue5 occurs in the speech of younger generation, due to the influence of Mandarin Chinese.
15.4 Time adverbs Time adverbs in Hui’an mainly include suin1 先 ‘first’, tsiaʔ7 則 ‘just now, only then’, and i3-2kiŋ1 已經 ‘already’. The adverb suin1 ‘first’, modifying a verb (phrase), indicates that someone does something before other people, as in (19), or something happens before other events, as in (20). (19) 汝 先 食, 我 佫 削 lɯ3 suin1 tsiaʔ8 gua3 koʔ7-8 siaʔ7 2SG first eat 1SG again pare ‘You eat first, I will pare another (apple for myself).’ (20) 暗暝 先 睏, 明日 則 佫 說 am5-3bin2 suin1 khun5 biã2-4let8 tsiaʔ7-8 koʔ7-8 sǝʔ7 night first sleep tomorrow only.then again say ‘Let’s sleep tonight first and discuss (it) again until tomorrow.’ In (19), the adverb suin1 modifies the verb tsiaʔ8 and has a sequencing function in indicating that the addressee is to eat an apple first, and then, after that, the speaker herself will do so. In this case, the meaning ‘first’ of the adverb suin1 is applied to the subject lɯ3 ‘you’. In (20), the adverb suin1 modifies the verb khun5 ‘sleep’, indicating that the persons concerned should first sleep, and then continue discussing the problem the next day. In this case, the meaning ‘first’ of the adverb suin1 is applied to the event denoted by the verb khun5 ‘sleep’. The adverb tsiaʔ7 ‘only then’ in (20) refers back to the temporal word biã2-4let8 ‘tomorrow’, which indicates the time when people are to continue discussing the problem. The adverb tsiaʔ7 can also mean ‘just now’, as illustrated by (21), where tsiaʔ7 modifies the verb kau5 ‘arrive’ signaling that he just arrived. (21) 伊 則 遘 1 7-8 tsiaʔ kau5 i 3SG just.now arrive ‘He just arrived.’
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The adverb i3-2kiŋ1 ‘already’, preceding a verb (phrase), denotes something has already been done, as in (22), or someone or something has already entered into a state, as in (23). (22) 已經 食 澈 i3-2kiŋ1 tsiaʔ8-4 theʔ7 already eat finished ‘have been eaten up’ (23) 已經 晏 咯 i3-2kiŋ1 uã5 lɔ0 already late SFP ‘It has become late.’
15.5 Adverbs of quantity and scope In this section, we focus on other adverbs that modify a verb phrase, rather than a sentence, especially those involving quantity or scope in some way. More specifically, we will examine the adverbs that either denote a repeated action (or imply the number of occurrences of an action) such as koʔ7 佫 ‘again’, or denote the quantity or scope of the person/thing involved such as tsau2 褿 ‘all’, or denote the frequency of an action such as siɔŋ2 常 ‘often’. The adverb koʔ7 ‘again’ often denotes a repeated action when modifying a verb phrase, as in (24) - (26). (24) 呣嗵 佫 挽 咯 5-4 1 7-8 3 m -thaŋ koʔ ban lɔ0 not-can again pluck SFP ‘Don’t pluck (your eyebrows) again!’ 齒 (25) 佫 咧 剔 koʔ7-8 leʔ7-8 thak7-8 khi3 again PROG pick tooth ‘picking (his) teeth again’ (26) 伊 昨日 佫 去 i1 tsa4let8 koʔ7-8 khɯ5 3SG yesterday again go ‘He went (there) again yesterday.’
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In (24), the speaker suggests that the addressee should not pluck her eyebrows again. In this case, the adverb koʔ7 is used in an imperative to advise against an event that has not yet happened. In (25), at the speech time, the addressee is picking his teeth again. In other words, the adverb koʔ7 in (25) is used to modify an event that is occurring at the speech time. In (26), the adverb koʔ7 is used for a past event as indicated by the time word tsa4let8 ‘yesterday’. Note that this is different from Mandarin Chinese, where different adverbs are used for these different contexts: the adverb zài 再 is used for an event that has not yet occurred, while the adverb yòu 又 is used for a past or for present events (cf. Li & Thompson 1981; Lǚ 1999, among others). Besides denoting a repeated action, the adverb koʔ7 can mean ‘still’, as in (27), or ‘also’, as in (28). (27) 伊 佫 未 遘 i1 koʔ7-8 bǝ5-4 kau5 3SG still not.yet arrive ‘He has still not arrived.’ (28) 我 佫 買 雙 鞋 3 7-8 3-2 1 gua koʔ bue saŋ ue2 1SG also buy pair shoe ‘I also bought a pair of shoes.’ In (27), the adverb koʔ7 occurs after the subject i1 and before the verb phrase bǝ5-4 kau5 ‘not arrive’, meaning that he has still not arrived. In (28), koʔ7 is placed between the subject gua3 and the verb phrase bue3-2 saŋ1 ue2 ‘buy a pair of shoes’, indicating that in addition to buying some other things, the speaker also bought a pair of shoes. Note that, in Mandarin Chinese, another adverb, i.e. hái 還 ‘still’ (rather than zài or yòu mentioned above), is needed in both these two contexts. The adverb a4 也 ‘also’ can indicate that the same event happens to another person, as in (29), or that the same situation is found in another context, as in (30). (29) 阮2 腹肚 也 枵 遘 gun3 pak7-8tɔ3 a4 iau1 a3 1PL Belly also hungry EVC ‘I am also so hungry.’ || 2 For plural pronouns with a singular meaning, please see §4.2.2.
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(30) 學堂 也 無嗵 食 oʔ8-4tŋ2 a4 bo2-4-thaŋ1 tsiaʔ8 school also not.have-can eat ‘There is also nothing to eat at school.’ In (29), a4 is followed by the adjective phrase iau1 a3 ‘so hungry’ to suggest that the speaker is also hungry like someone else. In (30), a4 precedes the phrase bo24 thaŋ1 tsiaʔ8 ‘there is nothing to eat’ indicating that the situation of having nothing to eat also applies to the school’s canteen, besides somewhere else. The adverb a4 may also mean that the same action is undertaken by another person, as in (31), or in a different situation, as in (32). (31) 𪜶 也 去 en1 a4 khɯ5 3PL also go ‘They also went (there).’ (32) 熱冬 也 著 蓋 被 luaʔ8laŋ0 a4 tioʔ8-4 kaʔ7-8 phǝ4 summer also have.to cover quilt ‘(We) also need to use a quilt during the summer.’ In (31), the adverb a4 suggests that the action of going to a place is also undertaken by them, besides other people. In (32), the adverb a4 suggests that the action of using a quilt is also needed during the summer, besides at other times of the year, such as during the winter. As shown by examples (29) – (32), the meaning ‘also’ of the adverb a4 applies to the subject, while in the case of the adverb koʔ7, the meaning ‘also’ applies instead to the verb phrase, rather than to the subject, as illustrated by example (28). The adverbs kɔ1-2kɔ1 孤孤 and tsi3 只 both mean ‘only’, as in (33) and (34), respectively. (33) 孤孤 買 叢 銃 kɔ1-2~kɔ1 bue3-2 tsaŋ2-4 tshiŋ5 only~only buy CL gun ‘only bought one gun’
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(34) 只 過 蜀 個 生日 tsi3-2 kǝ5 tsit8-4 e2-4 sin1let8 only pass one CL birthday ‘only celebrate one birthday’ The adverb kɔ1-2kɔ1 ‘only’ in (33) indicates that the speaker only bought a gun, but not other things. Since Chinese people may celebrate their birthday twice in a year, that is, following the solar calendar and the lunar calendar, example (34) suggests that the speaker celebrates her birthday only once in a year. The following are examples of tsau2 褿, tɔ1 都 and ke5 計 meaning ‘all’. The adverb tsau2 normally modifies action verbs, indicating that the whole set or entirety of the referents encoded by the subject/topic take on or suffer from the same action, as illustrated by (35) and (36). (35) 𪜶 褿 倒來 1 2-4 en tsau to5lai0 3PL all come.back ‘They all came back.’ (36) 衫褲 褿 洗 了 咯 sã1khɔ5 tsau2-4 sue3-2 liau3 lɔ0 clothes all wash finish SFP ‘All the clothes have been washed.’ In (35), tsau2 indicates that the referents of the subject en1 ‘they’ all carry out the action of coming back. In (36), tsau2 means that the referents of the topic sã1khN5 ‘clothes’ have all undergone the action of washing. Unlike tsau2, the adverb tɔ1 ‘all’ often also occurs with an adjectival phrase such as kǝ5-3 poʔ8 過薄 ‘too thin’ in (37), or with the copular verb si4 是, as in (38). (37) 兩 領 都 過 薄 4 3 1 5-3 liã tɔ kǝ poʔ8 lŋ two CL all excessively thin ‘These two pieces (of clothing) are both too thin.’ (38) 逐個 都 是 大學生 tak8-4-e2 tɔ1 si4 tua5-4oʔ8-4siŋ1 every-CL all be university.student ‘Everyone is a university student.’
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In (37), the adverb tɔ1 indicates that the referents of the subject lŋ4 liã3 ‘two pieces (of clothing)’ are both too thin. Similarly, the adverb tɔ1 in (38) indicates that the referents of the subject tak8-4e2 ‘everyone’ are all university students. In other words, the adverbs tsau2 and tɔ1 both refer to the entire set of members denoted by the preceding subject or topic. As with the adverbs tsau2 and tɔ1, the adverb ke5 ‘all’ can refer to its preceding subject (or topic), as illustrated by (39), where ke5 indicates inclusively that the referents of the subject lŋ4 kuin1 iɔk8-4siak7 兩間浴室 ‘two bathrooms’ both have hot water. (39) 兩 間 浴室 計 有 4 1 8-4 7 5-3 lŋ kuin iɔk siak ke u4 two CL bathroom all have ‘Both two bathrooms have (hot water).’ However, the adverb ke5 can also indicate that something (encoded by the verb phrase following ke5) happens all the time, which suggests that ke5 in this use may be regarded as an adverb of frequency. This is illustrated by (40) below, where two tokens of ke5 both function as an adverb of frequency indicating respectively ‘not studying all the time’ but ‘sending messages all the time’. (40) 伊 計 無 讀冊, i1 ke5-3 bo2-4 thak8-4tsheʔ7 3SG all not.have study 計 咧 發 短信 ke5-3 leʔ7-8 huat7-8 tǝ3-2-sen5 all HAB send short-message ‘He was sending messages all the time but not studying.’ As exemplified by (41) below, siɔŋ2 常 and kiŋ1siɔŋ2 經常, both meaning ‘often’, are typically used to denote the frequency of an action. (41) 恁 有 常/經常 聯繫 無 len3 u4 siɔŋ2-4/kiŋ1siɔŋ2-4 len2-4he5 bo0 2PL have often/often contact SFP ‘Do you often have contact (with each other)?’
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15.6 Attitude and epistemic adverbs Attitude adverbs refer to those that denote the speaker’s attitude toward or evaluation of the event expressed by the sentence (cf. Li & Thompson 1981:321). Unlike the adverbs mentioned in the preceding sections, attitude adverbs are sentential adverbs, that is, they modify the whole sentence, rather than the verb phrase (i.e. the predicate). Another important difference is that attitude adverbs can not only occur in the regular position after the subject or topic and before the verb phrase, but also occur before the subject or topic, that is, in sentence-initial position. Two examples are given in (42) and (43). (42) a. 汝 好得 無 買 迄垛 桌 lɯ3 ho3-2tet7 bo2-4 bue3-2 hit7-8-tǝ5-3 toʔ7 2SG fortunately not.have buy that-CL table ‘You fortunately didn’t buy that table.’ b. 好得 汝 無 買 迄垛 桌 3-2 7 3 2-4 3-2 7-8 5-3 ho tet lɯ bo bue hit -tǝ toʔ7 fortunately 2SG not.have buy that-CL table ‘You fortunately didn’t buy that table.’ (43) a. 懷 反正 下日 著 賣 捒 huai2 huan3-2tsiŋ5 e4let8 tioʔ8-4 bue4 sak7 those anyway future should sell RVC ‘Those should be sold, anyway, in the future.’ b. 反正 懷 下日 著 賣 捒 huan3-2tsiŋ5 huai2 e4let8 tioʔ8-4 bue4 sak7 anyway those future should sell RVC ‘Anyway, those should be sold in the future.’ The attitude adverb ho3-2tet7 ‘fortunately’ is placed after the subject lɯ3 ‘you’ in (42a), and occurs at the beginning of the sentence in (42b). Similarly, the adverb huan3-2tsiŋ5 ‘anyway’ occurs immediately after the topic huai2 ‘those’ in (43a), while it occurs at the beginning of the sentence in (43b). A subclass of attitude adverbs involves the speaker’s belief or opinion about the validity of the proposition, that is, it expresses epistemic modality, and is thus termed ‘epistemic’. In Hui’an, these include adverbs denoting epistemic possibility such as khɔ3-2liŋ2 可能 and m5-4lɔŋ3 呣攏, and epistemic necessity such as khŋ32 tiŋ5 肯定 and et7-8tiŋ5 一定 (see chapter 12 for more details).
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15.7 Summary This chapter has focused on adverbs. Most adverbs in Hui’an typically modify the predicate and occur after the subject or topic. These include manner, degree and time adverbs, but also adverbs of quantity and scope. Other adverbs such as attitude and epistemic adverbs modify a whole sentence and occur either in the sentence-initial position or after the subject (or topic). Manner adverbs, occurring between the subject (or the topic) and the verb phrase, usually indicate the manner in which an action is carried out. Degree adverbs can be classified into two subcategories: (a) those indicating the degree without an explicit comparison such as ia3 野 ‘quite’ and ban2 蠻 ‘rather’; and (b) those denoting comparison (between two or more entities) such as khaʔ7 恰 ‘comparatively’ and siɔŋ5 上/tsue5 最 ‘the most’. Time adverbs mainly include suin1 先 ‘first’, tsiaʔ7 則 ‘just now, only then’, and i3-2kiŋ1 已經 ‘already’. In the section of adverbs of quantity and scope, we also focused on the adverbs that either denote a repeated action (or imply the number of occurrences of an action) such as koʔ7 佫 ‘again’, or denote quantity or scope of the persons or things involved, such as tsau2 褿 ‘all’, if not denote the frequency of an action such as siɔŋ2 常 ‘often’. Attitude adverbs, such as ho3-2tet7 ‘fortunately’ and huan3-2tsiŋ5 ‘anyway’, denote the speaker’s attitude toward or evaluation of an event. Epistemic adverbs, such as khɔ3-2liŋ2 可能 ‘likely’ and khŋ3-2tiŋ5 肯定 ‘certainly’, being a subclass of attitude adverbs, involve the speaker’s belief or opinion about the validity of the proposition.
| Part III: clausal structure In this part, Part III, the focus will be on clausal structure. We discuss in the following order the topics of the ka>7-construction and the ka5-construction (chapter 16), comparative constructions of inequality (chapter 17), the ‘give’ construction (chapter 18), interrogatives (chapter 19) and topic-comment constructions (chapter 20). Chapter 16 focuses on the different uses of ka>7 and ka5. Six main types of comparative construction of inequality are next examined in chapter 17. Following on from this, in chapter 18, the ‘give’ verb in Hui’an is shown to take on quite a range of functions: as a ditransitive verb, dative marker, (permissive) causative verb, passive marker, speaker-affectedness marker, perspective marker and concessive marker, some of which prove to be typologically rare. Three types of interrogative are next examined in chapter 19: the polar interrogative, the constituent interrogative and the alternative interrogative. Given that the Hui’an dialect is claimed to be a highly topic-prominent language, in chapter 20, the topic-comment construction is discussed last of all in terms of six aspects: (a) forms of topics; (b) semantic relations between topic and comment; (c) positions of topics; (d) patient topicalization; (e) topic marker; and (f) contrastive function of topic.
16 The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions 16.1 Introduction Some Chinese varieties use one morpheme to mark different semantic roles like comitative, goal and source, e.g. koyng242 共 in the Fuzhou 福州 variety of Min can be used to mark comitative, goal, source, benefactive and patient (Chen Z. 2000:117-118), while others use more than one morpheme to mark these semantic roles, e.g. the Jixi 績溪 variety of Hui uses t60 to mark comitative and goal, uã22 問 to mark source, and po213/p60 把 to mark patient and benefactive (Zhao 2000:8689). Much work has been done to investigate how these semantic roles are marked in Southern Min, especially the semantic roles marked by ka7 共 in Taiwan (cf. Yang 1991; Wang & Zhang 1994; Cheng & Tsao 1995; Zhou & Ouyang 1998; Chappell 2000; Lien 2002; Tsao 2005; Yang 2006; Lin 2012, among others). Different Southern Min varieties show different scenarios for this issue. For example, in Quanzhou 泉州, kap7 合 functions as a connective or comitative marker, while kaŋ5 共 is used as a marker of semantic roles including goal, source, benefactive and patient, besides being used as a connective marker (Wang Jianshe, pers. comm.). In Taiwan, kap4/kap4 合 is used not only as a connective or comitative marker, but also as a marker of the semantic role ‘goal’, while ka7 共 typically marks goal, source, benefactive and patient (cf. Cheng & Tsao 1995; Tsao 2005). In the contemporary Hui’an dialect, kaʔ7 合 and ka5 共 are found to be associated with the semantic roles mentioned above and other semantic roles such as the malefactive. In addition, there is a distinction between kaʔ7 and ka5 in that kaʔ7 functions as a connective or comitative marker, while ka5 takes on a range of other functions (e.g. as an oblique marker: marking source, goal, benefactive and malefactive; and as a direct object marker, see also chapter 14). This is different from their counterparts in both Quanzhou and Taiwan mentioned above.1 Besides being both an oblique and object marker, ka5 in Hui’an can be followed by a personal pronoun, especially a non-referential singular personal pronoun, to express the speaker’s subjective attitude. Similar constructions are also reported in Taiwan in Lin (2012), who regards them as a subtype of the object marking construction. As will be shown in the following, however, this use of ka5 in Hui’an is related to its use as a benefactive/malefactive marker, among which, || 1 There are different viewpoints about the lexical sources of 共 and 合 as well as the relationship between them in the literature such as in Chappell (2000, 2006, 2007), Lien (2002, 2013) and Cheng & Tsao (1995). This will be further explored in a separate paper. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-016
296 | The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions the use as a malefactive marker in fact has not yet attracted enough attention in previous studies on both general linguistics and Chinese linguistics (including studies on Southern Min). The remainder of this chapter is organized as follows. In §16.2, we give a brief introduction to some of the relevant semantic roles. The functions of kaʔ7 in Hui’an are examined in §16.3, while the functions of ka5 are discussed in §16.4. A summary will be given in §16.5.
16.2 Relevant semantic roles In this section, we briefly explain the main semantic roles relevant to our following discussion, such as patient, goal, source, beneficiary (benefactive), and maleficiary (malefactive). According to Saeed (2003:149-150), a patient is ‘the entity undergoing the effect of some action, often undergoing some change in state’, as in (1a); theme is ‘the entity which is moved by an action, or whose location is described’, as in (1b); goal is ‘the entity towards which something moves’, either literally or metaphorically, as in (1c); source is ‘the entity from which something moves’, either literally or metaphorically, as in (1d). (1)
Examples of the semantic roles “patient, theme, goal, source” in Saeed (2003) a. patient Enda cut back these bushes. b. theme Roberto passed the ball wide. c. goal Pat told the joke to his friends. d. source We got the idea from a French magazine.
The beneficiary is ‘a participant that is advantageously affected by an event without being its obligatory participant (either agent or primary target, i.e. patient)’ (Kittilä & Zúñiga 2010:1). Three subtypes of beneficiary have been identified in the literature: (a) plain beneficiary, in which the act is done for some kind of benefit for the beneficiary, such as amusement and enjoyment, as in (2a); (b) deputative beneficiary, in which the agent performs some action in place of the beneficiary, as in (2b); and (c) recipient-beneficiary, in which the beneficiary is also the recipient, as in (2c) (cf. Van Valin & LaPolla 1997:383-384; also cited in Zúñiga & Kittilä 2010).
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(2) Three subtypes of beneficiary a. She sang a song for the child. (plain beneficiary) b. He went to bank for his wife. (deputative beneficiary) c. He baked me a cake. (recipient-beneficiary) The maleficiary is the opposite of the beneficiary, i.e. a participant that is adversely affected by an event without being its obligatory partipant (cf. Kittilä & Zúñiga 2010:5), as exemplified by (3), an example from English. (3) An English example of maleficiary My bicycle broke down on me. Comparatively speaking, little attention has been paid to maleficiary in both general linguistics (cf. Kittilä & Zúñiga 2010:5) and Chinese linguistics, as mentioned above. Previous studies on the morpheme 共 in Southern Min, for example, normally focus on its use as a marker of source, goal, benefactive and patient.
16.3 The functions of kaʔ7 In Hui’an, kaʔ7 can be used as a comitative marker (or preposition, see §14.6) indicating the other participant in an action which involves the co-participation of two participants. The verb phrase following the preposition phrase kaʔ7-NP can be one which possesses this inherent property such as uan1ke1 冤家 ‘quarrel’ and sa1phaʔ7 相拍 ‘fight’. An example is given in (4). (4) 合 伊 相拍 7-8 1 i sa1-phaʔ7 kaʔ COMT 3SG RECP-hit ‘fight with him’ In (4), sa1 is a reciprocal prefix (see §4.4) and sa1phaʔ7 ‘fight with each other’ indicates that both the subject (omitted in 4) and the object of kaʔ7 (i.e. i1 ‘he’) are involved in fighting. The meaning of co-participation can also be indicated by an adverb meaning ‘together’, as in (5), where the adverb tsue5-3tsue5 做做 ‘together’ makes it clear that the two participants take lectures together.
298 | The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions (5) 合 恁 做做 上 kaʔ7-8 len3 tsue5-3tsue5 siɔŋ5 COM T 2PL together take ‘take (lectures) with you’ The following example shows that the verb may denote an action that carried out by an individual or more than one person. (6) 汝 明日 合 小妹 去 買 衫 lɯ3 biã2-4let8 kaʔ7-8 sio3-2bǝ5 khɯ5-3 bue3-2 sã1 2SG tomorrow COMT Y.sister go buy clothes ‘Go shopping with your younger sister tomorrow.’ In (6), the action encoded by the verb phrase khɯ5-3 bue3-2 sã1 ‘go to buy clothes’ can be done by one or more than one person. The meaning that the two participants, i.e. the subject lɯ3 ‘you’ and the object of kaʔ7 (i.e. sio3-2bǝ5 ‘younger sister’), go to buy clothes together, is indicated by the whole construction. Note however, that the object governed by the comitative preposition cannot be considered to have a subject-like role. This is one criterion for distinguishing a comitative prepositional phrase clearly from a coordinate NP, a second one being that a coordinate NP would not permit a temporal noun such as ‘tomorrow’ to intervene between ‘you’ and ‘younger sister’. The comitative marker kaʔ7 is also used with the verb phrase u4 kuan1he5/bo24 kuan1he5 有關係/無關係 ‘have a connection’/‘have no connection’ indicating that a person or thing has respectively something or nothing, to do with another person or thing, as in (7). (7) 撮 合 𪜶 有/無 關係 tsuai2 kaʔ7-8 en1 u4/bo2-4 kuan1he5 these COMT 3PL have/not.have connection ‘These (things) have something/nothing to do with them.’ The structure kaʔ7 + NP + u4 kuan1he5/bo2-4 kuan1he5 as in (7) is a fixed phrase similar to English phrase have something to do with /have nothing to do with. The comitative marker kaʔ7 can also indicate the object of a statement of comparison of equality when used in comparison of equality, as in (8), where kaʔ7 is used to introduce the comparee gua3 我 ‘me’. In other words, kaʔ7 here can be regarded as a marker of the equative.
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(8) 伊 合 我 平 i1 kaʔ7-8 gua3 pin2-4 3SG COMT 1SG same ‘He is the same age as me.’
歲 hǝ5 year
Besides being a comitative marker, kaʔ7 can also function as a conjunction (or connective marker) connecting nouns, noun phrases, pronouns, or verbs and verb phrases (see §21.2). An example is given in (9), where kaʔ7 is used to connect two nouns, i.e. thŋ2 糖 ‘sugar’ and iǝm2 鹽 ‘salt’. (9) 糖 合 鹽 2 7-8 kaʔ iǝm2 thŋ sugar and salt ‘sugar and salt’ The development from a comitative marker to a connective marker is widely attested not only in Chinese, but also cross-linguistically (cf. Heine & Kuteva 2002; Liu & Peyraube 1994 ; Peyraube 1996; Zhang 2011, among others). Thus, it is safe to say that the use of kaʔ7 as a connective marker in Hui’an is derived from its use as a comitative marker.
16.4 The functions of ka5 As mentioned above, the morpheme ka5 in Hui’an takes on a range of functions (a) as an oblique marker, marking source, goal, beneficiary and maleficiary (see §16.4.1); (b) as an object marker (§16.4.2); and (c) it may precede a (non-)referential personal pronoun to express the speaker’s subjective attitude (§16.4.3). For all these three uses of ka5, the syntactic structure can be represented as ‘ka5 + NP + VP’, where the NP involves different semantic roles and referential functions.
16.4.1 As an oblique marker When used with ditransitive verbs of taking away such as tsioʔ7 借 ‘borrow’ in (10) and tho3 討 ‘ask for, beg’ in (11), ka5 normally functions as a source marker, as shown by (10a) and (11a). In certain contexts, however, ka5 can also be interpreted as a benefactive marker, as in (10b) and (11b). (10) 我
共
伊
借
車
300 | The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions gua3 ka5-4 i1 tsioʔ7-8 tshia1 1SG from/for 3SG borrow vehicle (a) ‘I borrowed a car from him.’ (b) ‘I borrowed a car (from somebody) for him.’ (11) 伊 共 儂 討 錢 i1 ka5-4 laŋ4 tho3-2 tsin2 3SG from/for other ask.for money (a) ‘He asked for money from somebody.’ (b) ‘He asked for money for somebody.’ The borrowing event involves the borrower, the borrowed thing and the lender (i.e. the source). In Hui’an, the borrower and the borrowed thing are typically realized as a subject, gua3 ‘I’ in (10) and an object, tshia1 ‘car’ in (10), respectively, while the lender (i.e. the source) is introduced by the morpheme ka5. Thus, example (10) is normally interpreted as ‘I borrowed a car from him’, as in (10a), in which ka5 functions as a source marker, i.e. indicating the lender. In some contexts, however, a separate beneficiary may be involved. As with the source, the beneficiary in Hui’an is also introduced by the morpheme ka5. In this case, ka5 NP may be interpreted as the beneficiary, with the source being underspecified, as in (10b), where ka5 then serves as a benefactive marker. Similarly, example (11) has two possible interpretations: (a) ka5 functions as a source marker, introducing the person from whom the money was asked for ; and (b) ka5 functions as a benefactive marker, indicating the person for whom the money was asked. In the interpretation (b), the source, i.e. the person from whom the money was asked for, is not specified. The following example shows that the benefactive and the source can both be specified in a given sentence, though this is not common in daily conversation. (12) 共 我 共 𪜶 借 錢 ka5-4 gua3-2 ka5-4 en1 tsioʔ7-8 tsin2 for 1SG from 3PL borrow money ‘(He) borrowed money from them for me.’ In (12), the first ka5 functions as a benefactive marker, indicating the beneficiary of the event ‘borrow money’, while the second ka5 serves as a source marker, indicating the person from whom the money is borrowed.
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When used with ditransitive verbs of communication such as sǝʔ7 說 ‘say’ in (13) and phaʔ7-8 ten5-4ue5 拍電話 ‘make a phone call’ in (14), ka5 normally functions as a goal marker. (13) 汝 共 伊 說 汝 無 閑 lɯ3 ka5-4 i1 sǝʔ7-8 lɯ3 bo2-4 uin2 2SG to 3SG say 2SG not.have leisure ‘Tell him that you don’t have time.’ 拍 電話 (14) 伊 共 我 i1 ka5-4 gua3-2 phaʔ7-8 ten5-4ue5 3SG to 1SG hit telephone ‘He called me.’ The communication event involves the communicator, the transferred information and the receiver (i.e. the goal). In Hui’an, the communicator is typically realized as a subject such as lɯ3 ‘you’ in (13) and i1 ‘he’ in (14), and the transferred information can be realized as an object in the object clause lɯ3 bo2-4 uin2 ‘you don’t have time’ in (13), or be underspecified as in (14), while the receiver (i.e. the goal) is normally introduced by the morpheme ka5, as in (13) and (14). In other words, in both (13) and (14), the morpheme ka5 is used as a goal marker, indicating the receiver in a communication event. In some cases, a beneficiary is involved and the morpheme ka5 can be used to indicate the beneficiary, with the goal (i.e. the receiver) being (under)specified, as in (15) and (16). (15) 汝 共 我 共 恁 爸 拍 電話 3 5-4 3-2 5-4 3-2 2 7-8 lɯ ka gua ka len pa phaʔ ten5-4ue5 2SG for 1SG to 2PL father hit telephone ‘Make a phone call to your father for me.’ 寫 批 (16) 我 咧 共 伊 gua3 leʔ7-8 ka5-4 i1 sia3-2 phue1 1SG PROG to/for 3SG write letter (a) ‘I am writing a letter to him.’ (b) ‘I am writing a letter (to somebody) for him.’ Like example (14), (15) also involves an event of making a phone call. In this case, however, there are two tokens of the morpheme ka5: the first one is used to
302 | The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions introduce the beneficiary gua3 ‘me’, while the second one is used to introduce the goal (i.e. the receiver) len3-2 pa2 ‘your father’. In other words, the first ka5 functions as a benefactive marker, while the second ka5 serves as a goal marker. In this case, both the beneficiary (gua3 ‘me’) and the goal (len3-2 pa2 ‘your father’) are specified. In fact, in daily conversation, the goal is often underspecified when a beneficiary is involved, i.e. the goal len3-2 pa2 ‘your father’ in (15) can be omitted. Example (16) involves another communication event: an event of writing a letter. In this case, the morpheme ka5 also functions as a goal marker, indicating the person to whom the letter is being written, as shown by (16a). However, in certain contexts (e.g. if the letter is being written for someone who is illiterate and unable to write), the morpheme ka5 is used as a benefactive marker in its deputative sense, indicating the beneficiary of the letter-writing rather than the addressee. In this case, the goal, i.e. the receiver of the letter, is not specified. When used with other verbs (especially transitive verbs) and when the NP following ka5 does not serve as an argument, the morpheme ka5 often functions as a benefactive marker, as in (17) and (18). (17) 我 共 伊 開 門 gua3 ka5-4 i1 khui1 bŋ2 1SG for 3SG open door ‘I opened the door for him.’ (18) 汝 共 我 停 3 5-4 3-2 lɯ ka gua thiŋ2-4 2SG for 1SG stop ‘Park the car for me.
車 tshia1 vehicle
In (17), the main verb khui1 ‘open’ involves two arguments: the agent gua3 ‘I’ and the patient bŋ2 ‘door’. The NP following ka5, i.e. i1 ‘him’, does not function as an argument of the verb khui1, and can be regarded as a beneficiary of the action ‘open the door’. In other words, ka5 in this case serves as a benefactive marker. Similarly, the main verb thiŋ2 ‘stop’ in (18) has two arguments: the agent lɯ3 ‘you’ and the patient tshia1 ‘car’, while gua3 ‘I’ (the NP following the morpheme ka5) can be interpreted as a beneficiary of the action ‘park the car’. Note that in both (17) and (18), the NP following ka5 can not be regarded as a goal (the receiver). In some cases, however, a reading of recipient-benefactive is involved, as exemplified by (19).
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(19) 我 共 汝 煮 gua3 ka5-4 lɯ3-2 tsɯ3 1SG for 2SG cook (a) ‘Let me cook for you (and give it to you).’ (b) ‘Let me cook for you (and give it to somebody else).’ The cooking event involves an agent (i.e. the cook) and a patient (i.e. the meal that is cooked). In (19), the agent is realized as the subject gua3 ‘I’, while the patient is not specified. The NP following ka5, i.e. lɯ3 ‘you’, can be regarded as a beneficiary of the cooking event, i.e. the person who will eat the meal that is cooked by the subject gua3. After the cooking event, a giving event may be involved (though it is not necessary), that is, the agent of the cooking event gives the meal to the person who will eat it. In this context, speakers tend to interpret the beneficiary lɯ3 ‘you’ as a goal, i.e. the receiver of the meal. In other words, a reading of recipient-benefactive seems to be involved here: ‘let me cook for you and give it to you’. Example (19) has another possible interpretation. The context can be that the speaker (i.e. the subject gua3 ‘I’) is offering to help the addressee (lɯ3 ‘you’, i.e. the NP following ka5) cook the meal for the children (or someone else), since the addressee is already late for work. In this case, lɯ3 ‘you’ is no longer a receiver of the meal, and thus can only be interpreted as a deputative beneficiary. In examples (17) – (19), the verb phrases (i.e. khui1 bŋ2 ‘open the door’, thiŋ2-4 tshia1 ‘park the car’ and tsɯ3 ‘cook’) are all used in benefactive events, in which the beneficiary is indicated by the benefactive marker ka5. In certain contexts, however, similar events can be regarded as malefactive, and the morpheme ka5 accordingly functions as a malefactive marker, rather than a benefactive marker. For example, in a car parking event, the car may be parked in an inappropriate place or way, by which the participant encoded by the NP following ka5 may be adversely affected. A more typical example of the malefactive marker ka5 is given in (20). (20) 杯仔 共 我 拍破 pue1-a3 ka5-4 gua3-2 phaʔ7-8-phua5 cup-NM MAL 1SG hit-broken ‘(He) broke the cup on me.’ In (20), the verb phaʔ7-8phua5 ‘break’ is inherently negative, and thus the event ‘break the cup’ is interpreted as a malefactive one. It is then obvious that gua3 ‘I’ (i.e. the NP following ka5) serves as a maleficiary, and the morpheme ka5 functions
304 | The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions as a malefactive marker, indicating the person who is adversely affected by the even t of breaking the cup. According to the analysis above, the morpheme ka5 in Hui’an functions as a marker of the source or goal argument on the one hand, while on the other hand, it can function as a marker of the benefactive or malefactive adjunct. All the examples of ambiguity above show the following possible extension: the source/goal marker > the benefactive/malefactive marker. A similar extension can be found in Lai (2013), a detailed study on semantic extension of Hakka LAU, which takes on the functions that are examined in this chapter, such as the comitative, source, goal, benefactive and patient senses, though a different verbal source is involved (LAU can also be used as a verb meaning ‘to mix’) (see Lai 2003 for details).
16.4.2 As an object marker When ka5 is used as an object marker, the main verb is often encoded by a transitive action verb such as siɔŋ1hai5 傷害 ‘hurt’ in (21) and thai2 刣 ‘kill’ in the imperative form given in (22), and the NP following ka5 such as gun3 阮 ‘we’ in (21) and kue1 雞 ‘chicken’ in (22) functions as a patient of the main verb. (21) 共 阮 傷害 ka5-4 gun3-2 siɔŋ1hai5 OM 1PL hurt ‘(He) has hurt me.’
咯 lɔ0 SFP
(22) 共 雞 刣 捒 5-4 1 2-4 ka kue thai sak7 OM chicken kill RVC ‘kill the chicken’ In (21), the first person plural pronoun gun3, with a singular meaning in this context, functions as the patient of the main verb siɔŋ1hai5 ‘hurt’. Similarly, the noun kue1 ‘chicken’ in (22) is the patient of the main verb thai2 ‘kill’. In both cases, the morpheme ka5 functions as an object marker, more specifically in terms of its semantic role, as a patient marker, indicating the patient of the main verb. Both (21) and (22) take the form of ‘ka5 + NPPATIENT + VP’, in which the patient NP is preceded by the object marker ka5 and encoded by a personal pronoun (gun3
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‘we’ in (21)) and a noun (kue1 ‘chicken’ in (22)), respectively. In fact, in daily conversation, the NP following the object marker ka5 is normally encoded by a personal pronoun, as in (21), rather than by a noun, as in (22) (the patient of ka7 in Taiwan is also typically pronominal, see Lien 2002). In other words, examples such as (22) are not common in contemporary Hui’an dialect. When a noun such as kue1 ‘chicken’ in (22) is involved, the noun is usually placed before the object marker ka5, functioning as a topic, while the third person singular pronoun i1 伊, as a resumptive pronoun, occurs after the object marker ka5, as shown by example (23). (23) 雞 共 伊 刣 捒 1 5-4 1 2-4 kue ka i thai sak7 Chicken OM 3SG kill RVC ‘kill the chicken’ Unlike example (22), the noun kue1 ‘chicken’ in (23) occurs before the object marker ka5, functioning as a topic. The third person singular pronoun i1, being coreferential with the topic kue1 ‘chicken’, is preceded by the object marker ka5. In other words, the construction takes the form of: NPPATIENT + ka5 + 3SG + VP. As shown by (21) – (23), the patient NP used with the object marker ka5 can be animate: a person, as in (21), or an animal, as in (22) and (23). The following example shows that the patient NP can also be inanimate. (24) 門 共 伊 關 (起來) bŋ2 ka5-4 i1 kuin1 khai0 door OM 3SG close RVC ‘close the door’ In (24), the patient NP is encoded by bŋ2 ‘door’ and occurs before the object marker ka5 to function as a topic. The third person singular pronoun i1, being coreferential with the topic bŋ2 ‘door’, occurs after the object marker ka5. Besides marking a patient, as in (21) – (24), the object marker ka5 in Hui’an is also often used to mark a theme, as in (25). (25) 懷 共 伊 下 咧 塗骹 2 5-4 1 4 7-8 huai ka i khe leʔ thɔ2-4kha1 those OM 3SG put at floor ‘Place those (things) on the floor.’
306 | The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions In (25), the location of the topic huai2 ‘those (things)’ is changed to that of the floor due to the agent’s action. Note that the object marker ka5 is followed by the third person singular pronoun i1, even though the topic huai2 refers to plural entities. As shown by example (26), a verb like khuã5 看 ‘look’ can also be used with the object marker ka5. (26) 著 去 共 伊 看 𥌚 khɯ5-3 ka5-4 i1 khuã5-3 bai5 tioʔ8-4 should go OM 3SG look TENT ‘(You) should go take a look at it.’ In (26), the object of the verb phrase khuã5-3 bai5 ‘take a look at’ is placed before the verb phrase and indicated by the object marker ka5. In certain contexts, additional to those discussed above for source and goal, some examples of the object marker ka5 can be interpreted in three different ways, as illustrated by (27). (27) a. 門 共 伊 關 2 5-4 1 bŋ ka i kuin1 door OM 3SG close ‘close the door’
(起來) = (24) khai0 RVC
b. 門 共 伊 關 bŋ2 ka5-4 i1 kuin1 door BEN 3SG close ‘close the door for him’
(起來) khai0 RVC
c. 門 共 伊 關 bŋ2 ka5-4 i1 kuin1 door MAL 3SG close ‘close the door on him’
(起來) khai0 RVC
As mentioned above, the third person singular pronoun i1 in this example can be coreferential with the topic bŋ2 ‘door’, and the morpheme ka5 functions as an object marker, as in (27a). However, when three persons are involved in the context, ka5 may be used to introduce a beneficiary, as in (27b), or a maleficiary, as in (27c). The context of (27b) may be that the speaker asks the addressee to close the door for a third person who is sleeping, the beneficiary coded by 3SG i1 who will benefit
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from the action of closing the door, and attention to the need for some quiet. Accordingly, the morpheme ka5 serves as a benefactive marker, rather than an object marker. When the door is closed to prevent the third person from entering the house, the third person might be adversely affected by this action (e.g. the third person is kept waiting outside the house), and so the interpretation (c) can arise. In this case, the pronoun i1 can refer to the maleficiary, i.e. the person who is prevented from entering the house. Accordingly, the morpheme ka5 functions as a malefactive marker, rather than an object marker. This example shows the possible extension from benefactive/malefactive marker to object marker. Proposals for a similar series of semantic extensions can also be found in previous studies such as Chappell (2006, 2007) and Lai (2003).
16.4.3 ka5 + personal pronoun In Hui’an, the complex ‘ka5 + 1SG’ can be used in an imperative construction to express the speaker’s subjective attitude, as in (28). (28) 汝 共 我 3 5-4 lɯ ka gua3-2 2SG KA 1SG ‘Come out!’
出來 tshut7lai0 come.out
Example (28) is normally used in the context that the speaker is very angry with the addressee for some reason and orders the addressee to come out. Without the prepositional phrase ka5-4 gua3(KA 1SG), lɯ3 tshut7 lai0 also constitutes an imperative construction, used to ask or order the addressee to come out, depending on the intonation and the context. In other words, the complex ka5-4 gua3 here is an adjunct, used to reinforce the imperative mood and express the speaker’s subjective attitude. This use of the complex ‘ka5 + 1SG’ may additionally be associated with the use of ka5 as a benefactive marker. We can take a look at example (29). (29) 汝 共 我 出來 者 lɯ3 ka5-4 gua3-2 tshut7lai0 tse0 2SG BEN 1SG come.out DELIM ‘Come out for a while for me.’
308 | The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions Example (29) tends to be used in the context where the speaker wants to discuss something with the addressee and requests the addressee to come outside for his or her benefit. In this case, the first person singular pronoun gua3 functions as a beneficiary, and ka5 accordingly serves as a benefactive marker. In fact, even in (28), ka5 may be regarded as a benefactive marker, since the action of coming out meets the expectation of the speaker. However, we wish to highlight here the fact that the complex [ka5 + 1SG] has become a fixed expression indicating that the speaker is very angry with the addressee over some matter and, as a result, orders the addressee to do something. Similarly, the morpheme ka5 can also be followed by a second or third person singular pronoun to express the speaker’s subjective attitude. An example of this use with the second person singular pronoun is given in (30c). (30) 伊 賬 共 汝 做 遘 好好 i1 tsaŋ5 ka5-4 lɯ3-2 tsue5 a3 ho3-2~ho3 3SG Accounts KA 2SG do CM good~good a. ‘She has done well for you with the accounts.’ b. ‘She has fiddled the accounts well on you.’ c. ‘She has fiddled the accounts well.’ The utterance in (30) is a real recorded example from our spoken data and from its context has the sense of (30c). However, the interpretations (a) and (b) are also possible in certain other contexts. In both (30a) and (30b), the second person singular pronoun lɯ3 refers to the addressee. The difference is that the morpheme ka5 in (30a) functions as a benefactive marker indicating that the addressee benefits from the event ‘she has done well with the accounts’, while ka5 in (30b) functions as a malefactive marker indicating that the addressee is adversely affected by the event of fiddling the accounts. Unlike (30a) and (30b), the pronoun lɯ3 in (30c) does not refer to anybody. In other words, lɯ3 does not function as a maleficiary, and accordingly ka5 does not function as a malefactive marker. An omission of ka5-4 lɯ3 does not change the semantic meaning of the sentence. The phrase ka5-4 lɯ3 is used to indicate that the speaker is unhappy about the event ‘she has fiddled the accounts well’. In other words, ka5-4 lɯ3 here is used to express the speaker’s disapproval, rather than indicate the precise role of a maleficiary. This example also shows the extension of ka5 from a benefactive/malefactive marker to a stance marker, accompanied by a change of the second person singular pronoun following ka5 from a referential one to a non-referential one. Two more examples of the complex [ka5 + 3SG] are given in (31a) and (32a).
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(31) 媽仔 好得 共 伊 社保 bã2-a0 ho3-2tet7 ka5-4 i1 sia4-po3 mother-NM fortunately KA 3SG social-insurance a. ‘Fortunately, I (your mother) have applied for social insurance.’ b. ‘Fortunately, I (your mother) have applied for social insurance for him.’ (32) 阿三 共 伊 笑 出來 1 1 5-4 1 5 a sã ka i tshio tshut0lai0 PN KA 3SG laugh come.out a. ‘Unfortunately, Ah-San burst out laughing.’ b. ‘Ah-San burst out laughing on him.’ The utterance in (31) is also a recorded example and in the context has the sense of (31a). The context of (31a) is that the speaker feels lucky that she has applied for social insurance for herself. The third person singular pronoun i1 here, without referring to anybody, does not function as a beneficiary, and thus ka5 is not a benefactive marker. In fact, the complex ka5-4 i1 is used to indicate that the speaker feels that she has done the right thing, and thus is very happy about this. However, it is true that the interpretation in (31b) is also possible, when the speaker has applied for social insurance for someone else (e.g. her husband), and similarly feels happy about this. In this case, the pronoun i1 does in fact refer to a real beneficiary, i.e. the person for whom the speaker has applied for social insurance. Note that sia4po3 can be a noun meaning ‘social insurance’, but here it is used as a verb meaning ‘apply for the social insurance’. Example (32) normally means that ‘unfortunately, Ah-San burst out laughing’, as in (32a). In this case, the complex ka5-4 i1 is used to express the speaker’s subjective attitude of disapproval, that is, the speaker believes that the subject a1sa͂ 1 should not burst out laughing. Like the pronoun in (31a), the third person singular pronoun i1 in (32a) is empty in its reference. However, we can imagine the following context: some person has asked Ah-San to refrain from bursting out laughing on him, but AhSan does in fact do this. In this context, the third person singular pronoun i1 refers to a third party and the morpheme ka5 serves as a malefactive marker, as shown in (32b). These two examples show the possible extension of ka5 from a benefactive/malefactive marker to a stance marker, accompanied by a change of the third person singular pronoun following ka5 from a referential to a non-referential one.
310 | The kaʔ7- and ka5- constructions
16.5 Summary This chapter examines the kaʔ7 合-construction and the ka5 共-construction in Hui’an. Unlike some other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen and Taiwan, the morpheme kaʔ7 in Hui’an functions as a connective or comitative marker, while ka5 takes on a range of other functions: (a) it functions as an oblique marker, marking source, goal, beneficiary and maleficiary; (b) it also functions as an object marker; and (c) it can precede a (non-)referential personal pronoun to express the speaker’s subjective attitude. We suggest that the use (c) of the morpheme ka5 is related to its use as a benefactive/malefactive marker. This is different from what has been put forward by Lin (2012), where similar constructions in Taiwan are regarded as a subtype of the object marking construction.
17 Comparative constructions of inequality 17.1 Introduction The comparative construction of inequality (hereafter termed ‘comparative construction’) is defined as one which ‘has the semantic function of assigning a graded (i.e. non-identical) position on a predicative scale to two (possibly complex) objects’ (Stassen 1985:24). Comparative constructions typically involve four constituents: the comparee (COM), the standard of comparison (STA), the (comparative) predicate (PRED) and the comparative marker (CM) (Stassen 1985:24-26; Ansaldo 1999:39; Chappell & Peyraube 2015). The term ‘the (comparative) predicate’ here refers to the constituent that ‘states the dimension of the comparison’ (Ansaldo 1999:39). This is different from ‘the predicate’ in traditional grammar, which functions as one of two main parts of a sentence, with the other part being the subject. As stated in Chappell & Peyraube (2015), the predicate in comparative constructions is predominantly expressed by an adjective, but is not confined to this category in Chinese. We follow Ansaldo (1999) and Chappell & Peyraube (2015) in using the term ‘comparative marker’ to refer to markers applied to either the standard noun or the predicate: the former is typically used to introduce the standard of comparison, such as the comparative marker bĭ 比 in Mandarin Chinese; whereas the latter is generally used to modify the predicate, such as the comparative marker gwo3 過 in Cantonese, which functions as a verbal complement of the predicate. These two types of comparative marker are referred to respectively as a dependent-marker of comparison (DMC) and a head-marker of comparison (HMC) in Ansaldo (1999:39). In his typological study on comparative constructions, Stassen (1985:28-47) identified six basic types of comparative in a sample of 110 languages based on the encoding of the standard NP: the separative comparative, the allative comparative, the locative comparative, the exceed comparative, the conjoined comparative, and the particle comparative. In another important typological study on comparative constructions, Heine (1997) argued that most comparative constructions in the languages of the world are derived from a limited number of conceptual source structures (or event schemas), and he identified eight main event schemas: Action, Location, Source, Goal, Polarity, Sequence, Similarity and Topic. A comparison between these two proposals is given in Chappell &
|| Note: Preliminary versions of this chapter also appeared in Chen (2008) and Chen (2015). https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-017
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Peyraube (2015), from which a table summarizing the correspondances is reproduced as follows. Tab. 17-1: Comparison of analytic approaches for comparative schemas of superiority
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
STASSEN 1985, 2005, 2011
HEINE 997
Separative Allative Locative Exceed Conjoined Particle ---
Source ‘from’ Goal ‘to’ Location ‘at’ Action ‘surpass, defeat’ Polarity ‘X is A, Y is not A’ Sequence e.g. Germanic ‘than’ Similarity ‘as, like’ Topic ‘X and Y, Y is A’
In terms of Chinese, much work has been done on comparative constructions during the past two decades, for example, Li & Lien 1995; Ansaldo 1999, 2010; Zhao 2002; Li 2003; Chang & Kwok 2005; Wu 2010; Chappell & Peyraube 2015, among others. Ansaldo (1999:105) identifies three main types of (target) comparative construction in Chinese: (i) Head-marking comparatives based on the Surpass or Exceed source construction; (ii) Dependent-marking based on the Similarity source construction; and (iii) Double-marking, as follows.
17.1.1 Three main types of comparative proposed in Ansaldo (1999) (i)Head-marking/Surpass type In the Surpass type of comparative, the standard of comparison is required to be constructed as the direct object of the main verb, noted as a property of the source construction (Ansaldo 1999:64). An example from Cantonese is given in (1), where the standard of comparison Soeng6Hoi2 上海 ‘Shanghai’ functions as the direct object of the verb phrase jit6 gwo3 熱過 ‘is warmer than’. (1)
香港 熱 過 上海 Hoeng1Gong2 jit6 gwo3 Soeng6Hoi2 Hongkong warm HMC Shanghai ‘Hong Kong is warmer than Shanghai.’ (Ansaldo 1999:105)
Introduction | 313
This type of comparative construction is one of the two predominant comparative construction types in contemporary Chinese, and widely attested in Southern and Southwestern China, in particular Yue, Hakka and Southwestern Mandarin (cf. Li 2003). This type of comparative basically equates with the second structural type (Type II, Surpass type, NPA – VERB – CM - NPB), proposed by Chappell & Peyraube (2015), or the Exceed type in Stassen (1995), and is associated with the ‘Action schema’ in Heine (1997). (ii)Dependent-marking/Similarity type In this type of comparative, the standard of comparison in the source construction is marked by an element originally meaning ‘to look like’, ‘like’, ‘comparatively’ and ‘to be compared to’ (Ansaldo 1999:64, 119). An example from Mandarin Chinese is given in (2), where the comparative marker bĭ 比 ‘compared to’ is used to introduce the standard of comparison jiějie 姐姐 ‘elder sister’. (2) 弟弟 比 姐姐 聰明 dìdi bĭ jiějie Cōngmíng brother DMC E.sister Smart ‘Little brother is smarter than the elder sister.’ (Ansaldo 1999:105) As mentioned in Ansaldo (1999:64), the term ‘Similarity’ is used in a slightly different way from that in Heine (1997:118), where, in the Similarity Schema, a relationship of similarity or equivalence is asserted between the comparee and the standard of comparison. The basic structure of the Similarity Schema in Heine (1997) is [ACOM is PRED (like) BSTA], and can be paraphrased as [ACOM is PRED-er compared to BSTA] (p.118). Unlike Ansaldo (1999), comparative constructions such as example (2) are separately categorized as a new ‘Compare’ schema in Chappell & Peyraube (2015), since they claim that the comparative marker bĭ ‘compared to’ does not have the meaning of ‘be similar to’ in the comparative construction, and thus cannot, strictly speaking, be treated as a similarity comparative. This type of comparative is the most common type in Chinese: it is widely used in Northern China and has been adopted elsewhere in Chinese (cf. Ansaldo 1999; Li 2003). (iii)Double-marking type Double marking type refers to a comparative construction which has both a marker for the standard and a marker for the predicate. An example from Hui’an is given in (3), where the dependent-marker of comparison pi3 比 ‘compared to’ is used to introduce the standard of comparison i3 椅 ‘chair’, and the head-marker
314 | Comparative constructions of inequality
of comparison khaʔ7 恰 modifies the comparative predicate taŋ4 重 ‘heavy’ to denote comparison. (3) 桌 比 椅 恰 重 toʔ7 pi3-2 i3 khaʔ7-8 taŋ4 table DMC chair HMC heavy ‘The table is heavier than the chair.’ This type of comparative construction is termed a hybridized construction and is so far attested only in Min and Hakka (Li 2003; Chappell 2015). So far, it is quite clear that Types (i) and (ii) among the three types of comparative proposed in Ansaldo (1999) are the two main types of comparative in Chinese, as mentioned in Chappell & Peyraube (2015), since Type (iii) has a comparatively limited distribution in Chinese. Significantly, Type (iii) is an important type of comparative construction in contemporary Southern Min (cf. Wang & Zhang 1994; Li & Lien 1995; Zhou & Ouyang 1998, among others). In addition, previous studies such as Li (2003) have shown that certain other types of comparative construction are also mainly attested in Min, while they are rarer in many other Chinese varieties. This analysis attempts to further examine these ‘special’ comparatives in Min, which are quite limited in their distribution, with examples from Hui’an. We have identified six main types of comparative construction in Hui’an, as shown in §17.1.2 below.
17.1.2 Six main types of comparative in the Hui’an dialect a.
Double-marking/hybridized comparatives i.e. ‘ACOM + pi3 比+ BSTA + khaʔ7 恰+ PRED (+ MW)’ b. Absolute comparatives i.e. ‘ACOM + khaʔ7 + PRED (+ MW)’ c. Head-marking comparatives with the marker khaʔ7 i.e. ‘ACOM + khaʔ7 + PRED + BSTA (+ MW)’ d. Zero-marked comparatives i.e. ‘ACOM + PRED + BSTA (+ MW)’ e. Comparatives with the marker khɯ5 i.e. ‘ACOM + PRED + khɯ5 去+ BSTA’ f. Dependent-marking comparatives with the marker pi3 i.e. ‘ACOM + pi3 + BSTA + PRED (+ MW)’
Double-marking/hybridized comparatives: ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW) | 315
Note that type (a) and type (b), i.e. the hybridized or double-marked comparative ‘ACOM + pi3 + BSTA + khaʔ7 + PRED (+ MW)’ and the absolute comparative ‘ACOM + khaʔ7 + PRED (+ MW)’ are the two dominant types, examples of which can be freely found in the spoken data we collected. In addition, these two types are commonly used not only by the younger generation, but also by the elder generation. Examples of type (c), i.e. the head-marking comparative ‘ACOM + khaʔ7 + PRED + BSTA’ can also be found in the spoken data. However, type (c) is more common in the speech of the elder generation than in the speech of the younger generation. The other three types, i.e. types (d), (e) and (f), are attested mainly via elicitation. Among these three types, type (d) is more common than the other two types, whereas type (f), the most common one found in Chinese, is the least common type of comparative in Hui’an. I will now present each type of comparative construction in turn.
17.2 Double-marking/hybridized comparatives: ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW) This type of comparative construction is widely used not only in Hui’an, but also in other Southern Min varieties in Fujian, Taiwan and Singapore (cf. Chen 1991a:299; Chen 1991b:458; Yang 1991:260; Wang & Zhang 1994:143; Li & Lien 1995:72; Zhou & Ouyang 1998:398; Li 2000:131; Zhou & Zhou 2000:130, among others). Ansaldo (1999) calls this type of comparative construction in Southern Min the double-marking type, given the presence of two markers: one marker for the standard of comparison (i.e. pi3) and another for the predicate (i.e. khaʔ7). Chappell & Peyraube (2015), however, use the term ‘hybridized construction’ to refer to this type, since it involves a blend of different types of comparative in Chinese, as will be mentioned later. In Hui’an, the comparee and the standard of comparison in this type of comparative construction can be encoded by either substantive or predicative words and phrases. Two examples are given in (4) and (5). (4) 即蕊 比 迄蕊 恰 水 蠻儕 7-8 3 3-2 7-8 3 7-8 3 tsit -lui pi hit -lui khaʔ sui ban2-4tsue5 this-CL DMC that-CL HMC beautiful much ‘This (flower) is much more beautiful than that (flower).’
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(5) 有 比 無 恰 好 u4 pi3-2 bo2 khaʔ7-8 ho3 have DMC not.have HMC good ‘Something is better than nothing.’ (lit. have compared to not have comparatively good) In (4), the comparee and the standard of comparison are encoded by the demonstrative phrase tsit7-8lui3 ‘this (flower)’ and hit7-8lui3 ‘that (flower)’, respectively. In (5), the comparee and the standard are expressed by the verbs u4 ‘have’ and bo2 ‘not have’, respectively. In both examples (4) and (5), pi3 functions as a dependent-marker of comparison introducing the standard of comparison, i.e. hit7-8lui3 ‘that (flower)’ and bo2 ‘not have’, while khaʔ7 is used as a head-marker of comparison modifying the predicate, which is encoded by the adjective sui3 ‘beautiful’ and ho3 ‘good’ respectively. Unlike (5), the adjective sui3 ‘beautiful’ in (4) is followed by the measure phrase ban2-4tsue5 ‘much’ denoting the degree of the difference between the comparee and the standard, indicating that the measure phrase is optional in this type of comparative construction. The following example shows that the predicate can also be encoded by a non-monosyllabic adjective such as u4tshui5-3tsiʔ8 有喙舌 ‘talkative’. (6) 伊 比 我 恰 有喙舌 pi3-2 gua3 khaʔ7-8 u4-tshui5-3-tsiʔ8 i1 3SG DMC 1SG HMC have-mouth-tongue ‘She is more talkative than me.’ In (6), the comparative predicate u4 tshui5-3tsiʔ8, consisting of the verb u4 ‘have’ and the noun tshui5-3tsiʔ8 ‘mouth and tongue’, is a fixed expression functioning as an adjective to denote ‘talkative’. A topic may be involved in this type of comparative construction. The topic can be placed before the comparee, that is, the comparative construction takes the form of ‘Topic ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW)’, as in (7) below. (7) 坐 車 廣州 比 泉州 恰 加 時間 kŋ3-2tsiu1 pi3-2 tsuan2-4tsiu1 khaʔ7-8 ke1 si2-4kan1 tsə4 tshia1 sit vehicle PN DMC PN HMC more time ‘It takes more time to take the bus to Guangzhou than to Quanzhou.’
Double-marking/hybridized comparatives: ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW) | 317
In (7), the verb phrase tsə4 tshia1 ‘take bus’, preceding the comparee (kŋ3-2tsiu1 ‘Guangzhou’), functions as a topic indicating that the comparison between the comparee and the standard of comparison is based on ‘taking the bus’. The following example illustrates that the topic can also be inserted between the comparee and the dependent-marker of comparison, that is, the comparative construction takes the form of ‘ACOM Topic pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW)’. 比 伊 恰 好 (8) 我 讀 gua3 thak8 pi3-2 i1 khaʔ7-8 ho3 1SG study DMC 3SG HMC good ‘I study better than him.’ In (8), the comparee (gua3 ‘I’) and the standard of comparison (i1 ‘he’) are compared in terms of studying, which is encoded by the verb thak8 ‘study’. Furthermore, as noted above, the topic thak8 is inserted between the comparee (gua3) and the dependent-marker of comparison (pi3). The topic can also be placed between the standard of comparison and the head-marker of comparison, as in (9), where the topic huaŋ1 風 ‘wind’ is inserted between the standard of comparison ku5-4lin2 舊年 ‘last year’ and the head-marker of comparison khaʔ7. In other words, the comparative construction takes the form of ‘ACOM pi3 BSTA Topic khaʔ7 PRED (MW)’. 恰 透 (9) 今年 比 舊年 風 1 2 3-2 5-4 2 1 7-8 ken -lin pi ku -lin huaŋ khaʔ thau5 this-year DMC old-year wind HMC strong ‘The wind of this year is stronger than that of last year.’ It is generally known that the comparative construction in Mandarin Chinese takes the form of [ACOM + bĭ 比 + BSTA + PRED], that is, the standard of comparison is placed between the comparative marker (bĭ 比) and the comparative predicate, which is disharmonic with the basic SVO word order pattern of Mandarin Chinese (cf. Dryer 1992; see also Chappell & Peyraube 2015), and not compatible with Greenberg’s Universal 22 as shown in (iv). (iv) No. 22. If in comparisons of inequality the only order, or one of the alternative orders, is standard-marker-adjective, then the language is postpositional. With overwhelmingly more than chance frequency, if the only order is adjectivemarker-standard, the language is prepositional. (Greenberg 1966:89)
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Similarly, in the double-marking/hybridized type of comparative construction in Hui’an as in examples (4) - (9) above, the standard of comparison is placed between the marker of the standard (dependent-marker of comparison) and the predicate, i.e. ‘DMC-STA-HMC-PRED’, which is also neither harmonic with its basic SVO word order pattern nor compatible with Greenberg’s Universal 22. Liu (2003c:17-18), however, points out that this double-marking/hybridized type of comparative construction satisfies the principle concerning relators put forward by Dik (1997:406): relators have their preferred position in between their two relata. According to Dik (1997:398), ‘(T)he class of relators contains those grammatical elements which serve to link two constituents together, and/or to mark the function(s) of a constituent as specified in underlying clause structure’. In the case of comparatives, in order to be compatible with the principle concerning the relators, the comparative marker needs to be placed between the predicate and the standard of comparison. The comparative construction [ACOM + bĭ 比 + BSTA + PRED] in Mandarin Chinese does not satisfy the principle concerning relators, since the marker bĭ ‘compared to’ is not placed between the standard of comparison and the predicate, whereas markers of the predicate (head markers of comparison) such as khaʔ7 恰 in the double-marking/hybridized type of comparative in Hui’an fill in the ‘gap’ between the standard of comparison and the predicate (Liu 2003c:17-18). As with other Southern Min varieties, the head marker of comparison khaʔ7 can be substituted by koʔ7-8khaʔ7 佫恰 ‘even more’, which is similar to the adverb gèng 更 ‘(even) more’ in Mandarin Chinese, as in (10). (10) 我 比 伊 佫恰 懸 gua3 pi3-2 i1 koʔ7-8khaʔ7-8 kuin2 1SG DMC 3SG even.more tall ‘I am even taller than her.’ Example (10) implies that both the comparee (gua3 ‘I’) and the standard of comparison (il ‘she’) are tall, based on which, the comparee is taller than the standard of comparison. However, without koʔ7, i.e. gua3 pi3-2 i1 khaʔ7-8 kuin2 我比伊恰懸 ‘I am taller than her’ does not imply that both the comparee and the standard of comparison are tall. In other words, it could be that both the comparee and the standard of comparison are short, while the comparee is nevertheless still taller than the standard of comparison. Note also that the English translation provided above for (10) is not semantically equivalent to the comparative construction of the Hui’an dialect, since the English sentence ‘I am even taller than her’ does not necessarily imply that both the comparee and the standard are tall.
Double-marking/hybridized comparatives: ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW) | 319
The double-marking type of comparative is probably not uncommon crosslinguistically. At least, it is attested in many European languages such as German, English and Italian. An example from English is given in (11), where the comparative predicate old is marked by the suffix -er, and the standard of comparison me is marked by the conjunction than. In this case, note however that Dixon (2012, vol 3) distinguishes two grammatical functions which are ‘mark’ and ‘index’: the index is the form that carries the meaning of ‘more’ or ‘surpass’ and it modifies the parameter of comparison, while the mark is the form that introduces the standard noun, such as English than or German als. (11) He is older than me. However, unlike the double-marking type of comparative in European languages as in (11) above, the double-marking type of comparative in Chinese (e.g. Min and Hakka) tends to be a result of hybridization due to language contact (see also Li & Lien 1995; Ansaldo 1999; Chappell & Peyraube 2015). This type of comparative is not attested in the Li Jing Ji, and may arise due to language contact (Li & Lien 1995:74, 77). Ansaldo (1999:107, 140) suggests that the double-marking type of comparative construction may arise in Chinese as a consequence of a hybridization of two different source constructions, i.e. the Surpass type (e.g. with khaʔ7 as a head-marker of comparison) and the Similarity type (with pi3 as a dependentmarker of comparison), due to Northern influence. Following this proposal, the double-marking/hybridized comparative in Southern Min, including the Hui’an dialect, may be the result of interaction of the Similarity/Compare type (i.e. ACOM pi3 BSTA PRED) and head-marking comparatives with the marker khaʔ7 (i.e. ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW), see §17.4 below). This is also what Chappell (2015) suggests. However, we are not able to rule out another possibility: the double-marking/hybridized comparative ‘ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW)’ may be a blend of the Similarity/Compare type (i.e. ACOM pi3 BSTA PRED) and absolute comparatives (i.e. ACOM khaʔ7 PRED (MW), see §17.3 below), since, as will be shown in the following discussion, absolute comparatives are one of the predominant comparative construction types in both earlier Southern Min and contemporary Southern Min. Note that unlike gwo3 in Cantonese which functions as a verbal complement in post-verbal position as in example (1) above, khaʔ7 functions as a comparative marker in pre-verbal position. As suggested in §17.1, khaʔ7 can be used in three types of comparative construction (see also Ansaldo 1999:114). As shown by the following example, khaʔ7 can also be used as a degree adverb meaning ‘a bit; fairly’ in non-comparative constructions with scalar adjectives (see §15.3.1).
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(12) Non-comparative constructions with khaʔ7 as a degree adverb a. 湯 恰 無 甜 thŋ1 khaʔ7-8 bo2-4 tin1 soup a.bit not.have sweet ‘The soup is not tasty enough.’ b. 汝 著 恰 主動 3 8-4 7-8 lɯ tioʔ khaʔ tsu3-2tɔŋ4 2SG should fairly active ‘You need to be fairly active.’ In (12a), the subject thŋ1 ‘soup’ is not explicitly compared to anything else, and the adjective phrase khaʔ7-8 bo2-4 tin1 ‘not tasty enough’ is used to denote the degree of tastiness of the soup, that is, somewhere between tasty and non-tasty, but closer to tasty, which suggests that adding a bit of salt, but not too much, will be enough. The context for (12b) is that the speaker is giving some advice on how to find a job to the addressee (i.e. the subject lɯ3 ‘you’) who is about to graduate from university. The speaker neither makes a comparison between the addressee and anyone else, nor compares the present behavior of the addressee and his future behavior. The use of khaʔ7 here means that the active approach of the subject in taking the initiative to look for a job should achieve a certain degree on the scale of activeness, otherwise the subject will not get what he wants. Note that khaʔ7 cannot be used with non-gradable adjectives such as ‘alive’ or ‘dead’. The two examples in (12) take the form of [NP khaʔ7 VP] with khaʔ7 functioning as a degree adverb meaning ‘a bit; fairly’, rather than a comparative marker. This adverbial use of khaʔ7 may suggest that the absolute comparatives (i.e. ACOM khaʔ7 PRED (MW), see §17.3 below) are not highly grammaticalized comparative constructions, since similar syntactic structures may be regarded as non-comparatives where khaʔ7 is a degree adverb without denoting any comparison, but rather a point on a scale for the given quality or feature. However, in the examples of double-marking/hybridized comparatives above and head-marking comparatives with khaʔ7 (i.e. ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW)) described in §17.4 below, khaʔ7 indicates comparison. This may suggest that khaʔ7 in Hui’an undergoes grammaticalization from a degree adverb to a marker of comparison, although the relevant pathway remains unclear (see also Dixon 2012: 370 on diachronic sources). The counterparts of khaʔ7 in other Min varieties have also been reported to function as a degree adverb, or, if not, to also have a meaning of ‘a bit, a little’. For example, Lin (1998:374) points out that kah found in Southern Min spoken in Fujian such as Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Quanzhou is a degree adverb meaning ‘a
Absolute comparatives: ACOM khaʔ7 PRED (MW) | 321
bit, a little’. The counterpart of khaʔ7 in the Singapore variety of Southern Min also has a meaning of ‘a bit, a little’ (Zhou & Zhou 2002:291). Zhou & Ouyang (1998:379, 398-400) and Zhou (1999:220, 222) suggest that k’aʔ in Xiamen is originally a degree verb meaning ‘fairly’, but has been gradually grammaticalized to be a marker of comparative constructions. K’aʔ in the Chaozhou variety of Southern Min and in the Fuzhou variety of Eastern Min similarly functions as a degree adverb meaning ‘too’ (cf. Cai 1991:235; Feng 1998:395). Similar extensions from a degree adverb to a comparative marker are also attested in other Chinese varieties, although a post-verbal degree adverb, rather than a pre-verbal degree adverb as khaʔ7 in Hui’an, may be involved. For example, in Xianghua, an unclassified Chinese spoken in Xiangxi in Hunan province of China, the morpheme sa55 些 is originally a degree adverb meaning ‘a little’, but functions as a comparative marker in polarity comparatives (cf. Chappell 2015), as in example (13), where sa55 follows the predicate fi13 肥 ‘fat’ and ua55 瘦 ‘thin’. (13) 你 肥 些, 我 瘦 些 ȵi25 fi13 sa55, wu25 ua55 sa55 2SG fat little 1SG thin little ‘You’re fatter and I’m thinner.’ = ‘You’re fatter than me.’ In Cantonese, the morpheme dī 啲 can be used in the absolute comparative [ACOM PRED dī] to simply denote comparison, that is, where the standard of comparison is not explicitly mentioned but implied by the context, as in (14) below, although it may also mean ‘rather’ or ‘a bit’ in a similar structure (Matthews & Yip 2011:188189). (14) 今日 熱 啲 gāmyaht yìht dī today hot a.bit ‘It’s hotter today.’ (Matthews & Yip 2011:189)
17.3 Absolute comparatives: ACOM khaʔ7 PRED (MW) As stated in Ansaldo (1999:43), comparatives often appear in a shortened, or truncated form without an overt standard of comparison in conversation and real language use. This comparative is called ‘short comparative’ in Ansaldo (1999). In traditional grammar, however, this construction is known as the absolute comparative (Huddleston & Pullum 2002: 1161ff. inter alia). The absolute comparative in Hui’an typically takes the form of [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED], in which khaʔ7 serves as a
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head-marker of comparison, like the comparative marker khaʔ7 in the doublemarking type of comparative examined in §17.2 above. The absolute comparative is also widely used in other contemporary Southern Min varieties such as Taiwan (Lu 2003:92-93) and Jieyang 揭陽 (Xu 2007:278279). In Taiwan, the comparative marker in the absolute comparative is the counterpart of khaʔ7 in Hui’an, whereas the absolute comparative in Jieyang is syntactically indicated by markers such as iau53, lau53 and zu53 (cf. Lu 2003:92; Xu 2007:278). Xu (2007:278) also mentions that absolute comparatives in Jieyang are ‘only possible if the Sta [standard of comparison] has been mentioned before in the immediate discourse’. In Hui’an, however, the reason for the omission of the standard of comparison is because it can usually be inferred from the context. An example is given in (15). (15) 口 喉 恰 有聲 咯 tse5 au2 khaʔ7-8 u4-siã1 lɔ0 now throat HMC have-voice SFP ‘(Your) throat is better now (than before).’ In (15), the comparee tse5 ‘now’ is compared to ‘before’ (the standard of comparison) which is not expressed but can be inferred from the context. Example (15) also suggests that a topic such as au2 ‘throat’ can be overt in absolute comparatives. In addition, the topic au2 is placed between the comparee tse5 ‘now’ and the head-marker of comparison khaʔ7. The comparee tse5 ‘now’ is a temporal word which is a substantive, and the comparative predicate u4 siã1 is a verb phrase with siã1 as the object of the existential verb u4. In the following, we give an example in which the comparee is encoded by a verb phrase such as tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8liã3 穿即領 ‘wear this piece (of clothing)’, rather than a substantive word. (16) 穿 即領 tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8-liã3 wear this-CL ‘Wearing this piece one).’
恰 爽 khaʔ7-8 sɔŋ3 HMC comfortable (of clothing) is more comfortable than (wearing that
In (16), the comparee tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8liã3 ‘wear this piece (of clothing)’ is compared to tshiŋ5-4 hit7-8liã3 ‘wear that piece (of clothing)’, which is not expressed but can be inferred from the context. The comparative predicate in (16) is encoded by the monosyllabic adjective sɔŋ3 ‘comfortable’.
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As in the double-marking/hybridized type of comparative, the predicate in the absolute comparative in Hui’an may also be followed by a measure word, as exemplified by (17), where the comparative predicate kiau3 巧 ‘clever’ precedes the measure word tiəm3-2a3 點仔 ‘a bit, a little’. (17) 伊 恰 巧 點仔 khaʔ7-8 kiau3 tiǝm3-2a3 i1 3SG HMC clever a.bit ‘He is a bit cleverer (than me).’ According to Li & Lien (1995:74), the absolute comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED] can be found in the Li Jing Ji. They also mentioned that the predicate in the absolute comparative in the Li Jing Ji is more complex than that in other comparative constructions attested in the Li Jing Ji, such as the zero-marked comparative [ACOM PRED BSTA] and the head-marking comparative with khaʔ7 [ACOM khaʔ PRED BSTA (MW)]. This may suggest that the absolute comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED] was already in wide use in the period corresponding to the composition of the Li Jing Ji, that is, the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and can be regarded as a comparative construction native to Southern Min, unlike the double-marking/hybridized type. However, as mentioned in §17.2 above, the absolute comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED] in Hui’an is probably not a highly grammaticalized comparative construction, since similar syntactic structures may be regarded as a non-comparative construction where khaʔ7 is a degree adverb without denoting comparison. We do not use the term ‘short comparative’ for the absolute comparative construction [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED] in Hui’an, since we avoid suggesting that the absolute comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED] is a shortened form that has developed from a comparative with an overt standard of comparison, such as the double-marking/hybridized type [ACOM + pi3 + BSTA + khaʔ7 + PRED (+ MW)] examined in §17.2, or the head-marking comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW)], which will be examined in the following section. Firstly, it is impossible for the absolute khaʔ7 comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED] to be derived from the double-marking/hybridized comparative [ACOM + pi3 + BSTA + khaʔ7 + PRED (+ MW)]. According to previous studies such as Li & Lien (1995:74-75) and Yue-Hashimoto (1999:63), the comparative construction with the comparative marker pi3 比, which can be found in different contemporary Southern Min varieties such as Hui’an and Taiwan, is not attested in earlier Southern Min documents such as the Li Jing Ji and the Doctrina Christiana, which dates from the early 17th century. The comparative [ACOM + pi3 + BSTA + khaʔ7 + PRED (+ MW)] is most likely a late development due to the influence of the comparative construction in Northern Chinese, as mentioned in §17.2 above. It is
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thus clear that the absolute comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED], already widely used in the Li Jing Ji, is not a shortened form of the double-marking comparative [ACOM + pi3 + BSTA + khaʔ7 + PRED (+ MW)] (see also Li & Lien 1995). Secondly, it is also superfluous to claim that the absolute comparative developed from the headmarking comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW)]. The reason is that the absolute comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED] can directly undergo syntactic reanalysis from the non-overt comparative construction [NP khaʔ7 VP] with khaʔ7 functioning as a degree adverb meaning ‘a bit; fairly’, as in example (12) above. Another piece of evidence comes from the absolute comparative in other Chinese varieties, such as the comparative [ACOM PRED dī] in Cantonese, as in example (14) above. The Surpass comparative in Cantonese typically takes the form of [ACOM PRED kwo3 BSTA] and its standard noun may not be omitted. It is furthermore obvious that the absolute comparative [ACOM PRED dī] is not a shortened form of the comparative [ACOM PRED kwo3 BSTA].
17.4 Head-marking comparatives with khaʔ7: ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW) This type of comparative construction is regarded as an adverbial strategy in Chappell (2015). As mentioned in §17.1 above, it is not widely used in the contemporary Hui’an dialect compared to the double-marking type and the absolute comparative, and is more commonly used in the speech of the elder generation than in that of the younger generation, even although examples are indeed attested in contemporary daily conversation. The following is an example collected from the spoken data. (18) 阮 即厝 恰 有嗵 食 恁 口面 gun3 tsit7-8-tshu5 khaʔ7-8 u4-thaŋ1 tsiaʔ8 len3 khau3-2ben2 1PL this-house HMC have-can eat 2PL outside ‘We here have more things to eat than you, outside the home.’ In (18), the comparee and the standard of comparison are realized as ‘pronoun + locative word’, i.e. gun3 tsit7-8tshu5 ‘we here’ and len3 khau3-2ben2 ‘you outside’, respectively. The comparative predicate is encoded by the verb phrase u4thaŋ1 tsiaʔ8 ‘have things to eat’. Not only the comparee NP and the standard NP, but also the comparative predicate, are expressed by a comparatively complex noun or verb phrase respectively, rather than a simple monosyllabic noun or adjective. This kind of evidence may indicate that the comparative construction [ACOM khaʔ7
Head-marking comparatives with khaʔ7: ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW) | 325
PRED BSTA (MW)] is, or at least once was, a very highly grammaticalized and mature comparative construction in Hui’an, even though it is not common nowadays. The morpheme khaʔ7 in (18) simply denotes comparison, rather than functioning as a degree adverb meaning ‘a bit; fairly’. The standard of comparison len3 khau3-2ben2 syntactically functions as an object of the verb phrase khaʔ7-8 u4thaŋ1 tsiaʔ8 ‘have more things to eat’, that is, example (18) is a transitive construction. This shows that the comparative construction [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW)] is associated with the ‘Action Schema’ in Heine (1997) or the Exceed type in Stassen (1995) in terms of the transitivity of the construction, as for the comparative [ACOM PRED kwo3 BSTA] in Cantonese. However, unlike these, there is no verb expressing the notion ‘defeat’, ‘exceed’ or ‘surpass’ in the Hui’an comparative construction [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW)]. The following are more examples of this type of comparative in Hui’an. (19) 口 恰 大 口 8 7-8 5 tsat khaʔ tua hat8 this HMC big that ‘This one is bigger than that one.’ (20) 今年 恰 寒 舊年 ken1-lin2 khaʔ7-8 kuã2 ku5-4-lin2 this-year HMC cold old-year ‘This year is colder than last year.’ (21) 阿母 恰 愛食 嬰仔 a1-bu3 khaʔ7-8 ai5-3-tsiaʔ8 in1iã3 PREF-mother HMC like-eat child ‘Mother likes eating more than the child.’ Examples (19) – (21) show that the comparee and the standard of comparison in the comparative [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW)] can be encoded by demonstratives (e.g. tsat8 ‘this’ and hat8 ‘that’ in (19)), temporal words (e.g. ken1lin2 ‘this year’ and ku5-4lin2 ‘last year’ in (20)), or common nouns (e.g. a1bu3 ‘mother’ and in1iã3 ‘child’ in (21)). The comparative predicate can be a monosyllabic adjective such as tua5 ‘big’ in (19) and kuã2 ‘cold’ in (20), or a disyllabic stative verb such as ai5-3tsiaʔ8 ‘like eating’ in (21). A topic can also be overt in this type of comparative, as in example (22) below.
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(22) 我 手 恰 長 汝 gua3 tshiu3 khaʔ7-8 tŋ2 lɯ3 1SG hand HMC long 2SG ‘My hand is longer than yours.’ In (22), the noun tshiu3 手 ‘hand’ is placed between the comparee gua3 我 ‘I’ and the head-marker of comparison khaʔ7 恰, and functions as a topic. Semantically speaking, the comparee gua3 and the topic tshiu3 function as a possessor and possessee, respectively. As illustrated by example (23) below, a measure word can be further added after the standard of comparison, rather than after the comparative predicate as in the double-marking/hybridized type and the absolute comparative as examined in §17.2 and 17.3 respectively above. (23) 大車 恰 緊 細車 淡薄 5-4 1 7-8 3 5-3 1 tua -tshia khaʔ ken sue -tshia tam4poʔ8 big-vehicle HMC fast small-vehicle a.little ‘The big car goes a bit faster than the small car.’ In (23), the measure word tam4poʔ8 ‘a little’ follows the standard of comparison sue5-3tshia1 ‘small car’ to indicate the degree of difference between the comparee tua5-4tshia1 ‘big car’ and the standard sue5-3thia1 ‘small car’ in terms of how fast they can go. The comparee and the standard of comparison in this example are both encoded by a noun phrase, and the predicate is expressed by the monosyllabic adjective ken3 ‘fast’. This type of comparative construction has also been reported in other Southern Min varieties in Fujian and Taiwan (cf. Chen 1982:62; Wang & Zhang 1994:143; Li & Lien 1995:72; Crosland 1995; Zhou & Ouyang 1998:198). In contemporary Taiwan Southern Min, for example, the head-marking comparative is attested in both the younger and elder generation, even though it has an extremely low frequency (Li & Lien 1995:81). In the contemporary Xiamen variety of Southern Min, it is typically attested in the speech of older and less educated informants (see Wu 1958:82-102; Crosland 1995; also cited in Li & Lien 1995:79; Ansaldo 1999:116). Ansaldo (1999:116) also mentioned that the existence of this type of comparative construction in Southern Min can be traced back to at least the beginning of the century in, for example, the grammar of Amoy by Piñol (1928), where Piñol points out that the comparative with khaʔ is the primary option for comparison or superiority. According to Li & Lien (1995:73), this head-marking comparative construction [ACOM khaʔ PRED BSTA] is nonetheless attested in the Li Jing Ji and its
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comparative predicate can be both monosyllabic and disyllabic. It is thus clear that this type has served as one of the basic comparative constructions in early Southern Min, and can be regarded as one of the ‘native’ comparative constructions in this branch of Chinese, as also suggested by Li & Lien (1995:74) and Ansaldo (1999:116).
17.5 Zero-marked comparatives: ACOM PRED BSTA (MW) Previous works on Southern Min such as Chen (1982), Li & Lien (1995), Zhou & Ouyang (1998) and Xu (2007) have all reported that there exists a type of comparative construction with the structure of ‘ACOM PRED BSTA’. This type is regarded as the absent-marking type by Ansaldo (1999), and as the zero-marked type by Chappell (2015). In the contemporary Hui’an dialect, this type of comparative construction is more commonly used by the elder generation than by the younger generation. The comparee and the standard of comparison are predominantly encoded by a simple noun or noun phrase, and the comparative predicate is typically a monosyllabic adjective, as illustrated by examples (24) – (26) below. (24) 我 肥 汝 gua3 pui2 lɯ0 1SG fat 2SG ‘I am fatter than you.’ (25) 大車 緊 細車 tua5-4-tshia1 ken3-2 sue5-3-tshia1 big-vehicle fast small-vehicle ‘The big car goes faster than the small car.’ 迄張 鋪 (26) 即張 鋪 闊 7-8 1 1 7 7-8 1 tsit -tiũ phɔ khuaʔ hit -tiũ phɔ1 bed wide that-CL bed this-CL ‘This bed is wider than that bed.’ These three examples show that the comparee and the standard of comparison in this type of comparative construction can be encoded by a personal pronoun such as the first person singular pronoun gua3 and the second person singular pronoun lɯ0 in (24), a noun such as tua5-4tshia1 ‘big car’ and sue5-3tshia1 ‘small car’ in (25), or a noun phrase such as tsit7-8tiũ1 phɔ1 ‘this bed’ and hit7-8tiũ1 phɔ1 ‘that bed’ in (26).
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The comparative predicate in all these three examples is encoded by a monosyllabic adjective, i.e. pui2 ‘fat’, ken3 ‘fast’ and khuaʔ7 ‘wide’ in (24) – (26), respectively. In these examples, the standard of comparison such as lɯ0 ‘you’ in example (24) serves as the object of the comparative predicate pui2 ‘fat’. In other words, like the comparative [ACOM khaʔ PRED BSTA] examined in §17.4 above, the comparative [ACOM PRED BSTA] is also a transitive construction and associated with the ‘Action Schema’ in Heine (1997). However, the comparee in this type of comparative in Hui’an can also be a verb phrase, as in (27). (27) 穿 即領 爽 迄領 5-4 7-8 3 3 tshiŋ tsit -liã sɔŋ hit7-8-liã3 wear this-CL comfortable that-CL ‘Wearing this piece (of clothing) is more comfortable than wearing that one.’ In (27), the comparee is encoded by the verb phrase tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8liã3 ‘wear this piece (of clothing)’, whereas the standard of comparison is simply expressed by the demonstrative phrase hit7-8liã3 ‘that piece (of clothing)’, rather than the verb phrase tshiŋ5-4 hit7-8liã3 ‘wear that piece (of clothing)’. In other words, the repetition of the verb tshiŋ5 is not necessary for coding the standard of comparison. A similar phenomenon is also attested in the Surpass type of comparative in Cantonese [ACOM PRED kwo3 BSTA], but not in the Compare type of comparative in Mandarin varieties (see Chappell & Peyraube 2015). Moreover, for example (27), the construction without a second tshiŋ5 is more natural than the one with it, i.e. tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8liã3 sɔŋ3 hit7-8liã3 穿即領爽迄領 is more natural than tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8liã3 sɔŋ3 tshiŋ5-4 hit7-8liã3 穿即領爽穿迄領, for native speakers of the Hui’an dialect. Besides the monosyllabic adjectives in examples (24) – (27) above, the comparative predicate in this type of comparative can also be encoded by a disyllabic adjective such as tua5-4tsiaʔ7 大隻 ‘big’ in (28), or a trisyllabic adjective such as u4tshui5-3tsiʔ8 有喙舌 ‘talkative’ in (28). (28) 鵝 大隻 雞 gia2 tua5-4-tsiaʔ7-8 kue1 goose big-CL chicken ‘The goose is bigger than the chicken.’
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(29) 我 有喙舌 汝 gua3 u4-tshui5-3-tsiʔ8 lɯ3 1SG have-mouth-tongue 2SG ‘I am more talkative than you.’ In (28), the predicate is encoded by the adjective tua5-4tsiaʔ7 ‘big’ which consists of the adjective tua5 ‘big’ and the classifier tsiaʔ7. In (29), the predicate u4tshui53 tsiʔ8 is a fixed expression functioning like an adjective expressing ‘talkative’ (see also example (6) in §17.2 above). The following are two examples with an overt topic. (30) 我 骹 短 汝 gua3 kha1 tǝ3 lɯ0 1SG leg short 2SG ‘My legs are shorter than yours.’ 泉州 (31) 坐 車 廣州 加 時間 tsə4 tshia1 kŋ3-2tsiu1 ke1 si2-4kan1 tsuan2-4tsiu1 sit vehicle PN more time PN ‘It takes more time to take the bus to Guangzhou than to Quanzhou.’ The topic kha1 ‘leg’ in (30) is placed between the comparee gua3 ‘I’ and the predicate tə3 ‘short’, whereas the topic tsə4 tshia1 ‘take the bus’ in (31) is placed before the comparee kŋ3-2tsiu1 ‘Guangzhou’. A measure word following the standard of comparison such as ban2-4tsue5 蠻 儕 ‘much’ in example (32) below, is optional in Hui’an. (32) 我 勇 伊 (蠻儕) gua3 iɔŋ3 i0 (ban2-4tsue5) 1SG strong 3SG (much) ‘I am (much) stronger than her.’ The comparative construction [ACOM PRED BSTA (MW)]] without the requirement of a measure word is so far attested only in Min such as the Hui’an, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Jieyang varieties of Southern Min, and Southwestern Mandarin such as the Jishou variety in Hunan province of China, whereas the comparative [ACOM PRED BSTA MW] with an obligatory, overt measure word is widely used in various Chinese varieties such as Mandarin, Wu, Hakka, Yue and Xiang (cf. Li 2003:218219; Ansaldo 1999:105-106; Xu 2007:272). It should be mentioned, however, that
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the zero-marked comparative with a measure word, [ACOM PRED BSTA MW], rather than the same form without, [ACOM PRED BSTA], is also attested in contemporary Taiwan Southern Min (Li & Lien 1995:77). The zero-marked comparative [ACOM PRED BSTA] can be attested in the Ming dynasty Li Jing Ji, where only a monosyllabic comparative predicate is allowed in this type (see Li & Lien 1995:73-74). Across the thirteen texts including five versions of the Li Jing Ji, consulted in Chappell, Peyraube and Song (forthcoming), there are only two real examples out of 46 zero-marked comparatives and these are both formed with tang7 重 ‘be heavy’, ‘be important’. The remaining 44/46 all contain different surpass verbs as the main verb and are thus lexical comparatives. It is in fact quite marginal in the thirteen early Southern Min texts. Nonetheless, this construction type can be found as early as in Archaic Chinese texts (11th – 3rd BC) and also in contemporary Chinese, as mentioned above. We suggest that the zero-marked comparative construction [ACOM PRED BSTA] can be regarded as one of the ‘native’ comparative constructions in Southern Min, like the headmarked comparative [ACOM khaʔ PRED BSTA].
17.6 Comparatives with the marker khɯ5: ACOM PRED khɯ5 BSTA This type of comparative construction is not widely used in the contemporary Hui’an dialect and, if anything, is more common in the speech of the elder generation than in the speech of the younger generation. The use of this type of comparative is more limited than the zero-marked comparative [ACOM PRED BSTA] exemplified in (24) – (32) above, not to mention than the four other types of comparative we have already examined. The comparee and the standard of comparison in this type of comparative are typically nouns or pronouns, personal or demonstrative, rather than a VP, and the comparative predicate is typically a monosyllabic adjective, as exemplified by (33) – (35). (33) 口 大 去 口 tsat8 tua5-4 khɯ5-3 hat8 this big go that ‘This one is bigger than that one.’ (34) 我 凶 去 汝 gua3 hiɔŋ1 khɯ5-3 lɯ3 1SG ugly go 2SG ‘I am uglier than you.’
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(35) 張三 重 去 李四 tiũ1sã1 taŋ4 khɯ5-3 li3-2si5 PN heavy go PN ‘Zhang San is heavier than Li Si.’ The examples above show that the comparee and the standard of comparison in this type of comparative can be encoded by a demonstrative such as tsat8 ‘this’ and hat8 ‘that’ in (33), a personal pronoun such as gua3 ‘I’ and lɯ3 ‘you’ in (34), or a proper noun such as tiũ1sã1 ‘Zhang San’ and li3-2si5 ‘Li Si’ in (35). Not all monosyllabic adjectives can be used in this type of comparative, as shown by (36). (36) a. 我 巧 汝 gua3 khiau3 lɯ0 1SG clever 2SG ‘I am cleverer than you.’ b. *我 巧 去 汝 gua3 khiau3 khɯ5-3 lɯ3 1SG clever go 2SG (attempted meaning: ‘I am cleverer than you.’) In (36), the monosyllabic adjective khiau3 ‘clever’ can function as a comparative predicate in the zero-marked comparative construction [ACOM PRED BSTA], but not in the khɯ5-comparative [ACOM PRED khɯ5 BSTA]. This may be associated with the fact that the verbal complement khɯ5 in Hui’an tends to be used with a negative, rather than a positive attribute. However, not all positive monosyllabic adjectives are excluded from this type of comparative, as seen in (37). (37) a. 我 好 去 汝 3 3 5-3 gua ho khɯ lɯ3 1SG good go 2SG ‘I am better than you.’ b. 我 否 去 汝 3 3 5-3 gua phai khɯ lɯ3 1SG bad go 2SG ‘I am worse than you.’
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As shown in (37), both the positive monosyllabic adjective ho3 ‘good’ and its negative form phai3 ‘bad’ can serve as a comparative predicate followed by the comparative marker khɯ5. One of the reasons may be that the adjective ho3 ‘good’ is more basic and common than the adjective khiau3 ‘clever’. In addition, not all non-positive monosyllabic adjectives can be naturally used with the comparative marker khɯ5, as (38) shows. (38) a. 即搭 熱 迄搭 tsit7-8-taʔ7 luaʔ8 hit7-8-taʔ7 this-LOC hot that-LOC ‘It is hotter here than there.’ b. ?即搭 熱 去 迄搭 tsit7-8-taʔ7 luaʔ8 khɯ5-3 hit7-8-taʔ7 this-LOC hot go that-LOC ‘It is hotter here than there.’ The monosyllabic adjective luaʔ8 ‘hot’ used with the comparative marker khɯ5 as in example (38b) can be accepted by native speakers of the Hui’an dialect. However, comparatively speaking, the zero-marked form [ACOM PRED BSTA], without the marker khɯ5 as in (38a), is preferred in use, rather than the form with it, as in (38b). One of the reasons may be that the sequence khɯ5-3 hit7-8taʔ7 is ambiguous in Hui’an, having another possible, and probably more common interpretation, i.e. the locative word hit7-8taʔ7 ‘there’ functions as a locative object of the motion verb khɯ5 ‘go’, ‘to go there’. As demonstrated by examples (39) and (40) below, it seems that the comparative predicate in this type of khɯ5-comparative cannot be other than monosyllabic. (39) a. 今日 嚨喉 有聲 昨日 kiã1let8 lau2-4au2 u4-siã1 tsa4let8 today throat have-voice yesterday ‘(Your) throat is better today (than yesterday).’ b. ?今日 嚨喉 有聲 去 昨日 1 8 2-4 2 4 1 5-3 kiã let lau au u -siã khɯ tsa4let8 today throat have-voice go yesterday ‘(Your) throat is better today (than yesterday).’
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(40) *我 有喙舌 去 汝 gua3 u4-tshui5-3-tsiʔ8 khɯ5-3 lɯ3 1SG have-mouth-tongue go 2SG ‘I am more talkative than you.’ In (39), u4siã1 ‘have voice’ serving as a comparative predicate preceding the comparative marker khɯ5 is acceptable. However, the form without the marker khɯ5 as in (39a) is better than the form with it, as in (39b). In (40), the polysyllabic form, u4tshui5-3tsiʔ8 ‘talkative’, cannot occur at all in the comparative with the khɯ5. Based on the analysis above, it appears to be safe to say at this point that the comparative predicate in this type of comparative in contemporary Hui’an dialect tends to be encoded by a negative monosyllabic adjective, though positive monosyllabic adjectives with high frequency such as ho3 好 ‘good’ are also possible. As shown by the following example, the comparee can be encoded by a verb phrase such as tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8liã3 ‘wear this piece (of clothing)’. (41) 穿 即領 爽 tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8-liã3 sɔŋ3 wear this-CL comfortable ‘Wearing this piece (of clothing) one.’
去 khɯ5-3 go is more
迄領 hit7-8-liã3 that-CL comfortable than wearing that
This example also shows that the positive monosyllabic adjective sɔŋ3 ‘comfortable’ can be used with the comparative marker khɯ5. In other words, the positivenegative distinction may not be, after all, the most important factor in explaining the limited use of the comparative construction with the marker khɯ5. Unlike the previous four types of comparative construction as examined in §17.2 – 17.5, this type of comparative construction has not been elsewhere reported in the literature on Southern Min, but can be found in the Fuzhou variety of Eastern Min (Yuan 1989:305; Zhao 2002:49). Wu Fuxiang (pers. comm.) suggests that the comparative marker khɯ5 here functions as a verbal complement of the predicate. As mentioned above, the head-marker of comparison gwo3 in Cantonese is also regarded as a verbal complement in the literature, including Li (1994), Mok (1998), Ansaldo (1999:121) and Chappell (2015). In other words, as with gwo3 in Cantonese, khɯ5 in Hui’an can also serve as a head-marker of comparison, similarly observed by Liu (2003c:14) who suggests that qù 去 in Northern Min and qǐ 起 in the Shandong variety are markers of the predicate in comparative constructions and that this function can be derived from their functions as directional complements.
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Similar kinds of head-markers of comparison and comparative constructions are attested in many other Chinese varieties, including Wu, Hakka, Gan, Xiang and Mandarin (Li 2003:219). If we agree that the comparative marker khɯ5 in Hui’an may also be a verbal complement of the predicate, then in this case, it would form a transitive construction with the standard of comparison as the object of the complex [PRED khɯ5], associated with the ‘Action Schema’ in Heine (1997). However, we also wonder whether there is another possible interpretation. The counterpart of khɯ5 in Mandarin Chinese, i.e. qù, originally means ‘leave, depart from’ in earlier Chinese and can also be used as a verb showing a comparison between two places. Thus, is there any possible connection between the comparative marker khɯ5 and the Separative comparatives of Stassen (1985)? However, as pointed out by Wu Fuxiang (pers. comm.), the comparative markers associated with Separative comparatives are typically morphemes indicating cases such as adpositions or affixes, while neither khɯ5 in Hui’an nor qù in Mandarin Chinese is used as an adposition in a dependent-marking strategy. While this suggests that comparatives with the marker khɯ5 may not be a typical example of the Separative type, the possibility cannot be ruled out that they belong to the Separative type, rather than the Surpass type. Wu (2011:9) also suggests that the comparative construction with the marker QÙ 去 is an innovation in Eastern Min based on the zeromarked comparative construction ‘ACOM PRED BSTA’.
17.7 Dependent-marking comparatives with pi3: ACOM pi3 BSTA PRED (MW) It is generally known that the basic comparative construction in Mandarin Chinese is ACOM bǐ 比 BSTA PRED, which is respectively called the Similarity type by Ansaldo (1999) and the Compare type by Chappell & Peyraube (2015), as stated in §17.1 above. We have also mentioned that this type of comparative is the most common one found in Chinese. Not surprisingly, it is also attested in different Southern Min varieties. In the Jieyang variety of Southern Min, for example, the dependent-marked comparative is the most versatile and plays an important role in Jieyang syntax (see Xu 2007:277). In Taiwan, it is found across the speech of all the different age groups ranging from 15 years old to 74 years old (Li & Lien 1995:80-81). In Hui’an, however, it is not widely used and is quite limited. The double-marking/hybridized type of comparative is preferred when the comparative marker pi3 is involved. In addition, this type of comparative construction usually requires a measure phrase following the comparative predicate, as in (42),
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where the measure phrase sã1 hə5 三歲 ‘three years’ is preceded by the predicate tua5 大 ‘big’. (42) 我 比 伊 大 三 歲 gua3 pi3-2 i1 tua5-4 sã1 hə5 1SG DMC 3SG big three year ‘I am three years older than him.’
17.8 Summary This chapter has examined comparative constructions of inequality (termed ‘comparative construction’) in Hui’an. Six main types of comparative construction are attested: (a) double-marking/hybridized comparatives i.e. [ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED (MW)] (b) absolute comparatives, i.e. [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED (MW)] (c) head-marking comparatives with the marker khaʔ7 i.e. [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW)] (d) zero-marked comparatives i.e. [ACOM PRED BSTA (MW)] (e) comparatives with the marker khɯ5, i.e. [ACOM PRED khɯ5 BSTA] (f) dependent-marking comparatives with the marker pi3 ‘compare’ i.e. [ACOM pi3 BSTA PRED (MW)]] Type (a) and Type (b), i.e. [ACOM pi3 BSTA khaʔ7 PRED] and [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED] are the dominant types. Types (c), (d) and (e) are more commonly used in the speech of the elder generation than that in the speech of the younger generation. In addition, the use of Type (e) is much more restricted than that of Types (c) and (d), as we have shown. Type (f), the most common one in Chinese, however, is quite limited in Hui’an and usually requires a measure word following the comparative predicate. A topic noun or phrase may be involved in these comparative constructions. Moreover, the position of the topic is relatively free: it may be placed before the comparee, be inserted between the comparee and the dependent-marker of comparison, or even be placed between the standard of comparison and the headmarker of comparison, especially in the comparative construction where all these relevant constituents are present such as in the double-marking/hybridized type. The morpheme khaʔ7 in Hui’an found in the head-marking type can also be used as a degree adverb meaning ‘a bit; fairly’ in non-comparative constructions,
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which suggests a possible grammaticalization path from a degree adverb to a marker of comparison. In fact, similar extensions from a degree adverb to a comparative marker can also be potentially attested in other Min varieties and other Chinese varieties such as Xianghua and Cantonese. The non-comparative constructions, in which the degree adverb khaʔ7 ‘a bit, fairly’ occurs, share the same structure with Type (b), [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED (MW)], which suggests that it is not highly grammaticalized. In this construction, the standard of comparison is usually not expressed because it can be inferred from the context. This is different from the Jieyang variety which syntactically requires that the standard of comparison be mentioned in the prior discourse (see §17.3). The head-marking Type (c), [ACOM khaʔ7 PRED BSTA (MW)], was the primary option for comparison at the beginning of 20th century and is also attested in the Ming dynasty Li Jing Ji. Similarly, the zero-marked Type (d) is also attested in the Li Jing Ji, though be it marginal in nature. Such evidence may show that these two types are both ‘native’ comparative constructions in Southern Min. However, neither is widely used in the contemporary Hui’an dialect. In addition, these two types are both associated with the ‘Action Schema’ in Heine (1997) or the Exceed type in Stassen (1995) in terms of the transitivity of their forms. However, unlike the typical Exceed/Surpass type of comparative based on the ‘Action Schema’ such as the comparative construction [ACOM PRED kwo3 BSTA] in Cantonese, there is no verb expressing the notion ‘defeat’, ‘exceed’ or ‘surpass’ in these two types. Type (e) comparatives have not been reported in the literature on other varieties of Southern Min, but are found in the Fuzhou variety of Eastern Min. There are two possible hypotheses regarding this type of comparative construction using the marker khɯ5: (a) similar to the comparative marker gwo3 in Cantonese, the marker khɯ5 functions as a verbal complement of the predicate which means that this type of comparative construction can be classified as the Surpass type or the ‘Action Schema’ according to Heine (1997); and (b) the counterpart of khɯ5 in Mandarin Chinese, i.e. qù, originally means ‘leave, depart from’ in earlier Chinese and can also be used as a verb showing a comparison between two places. This suggests that the marker khɯ5 may be derived from its use as a verb meaning ‘leave, depart from’ and that it may be associated with the Separative type in Stassen (1985), if not the Source schema in Heine.
18 The ‘give’ construction 18.1 Introduction The ‘give’ verb takes on a range of functions including those of ditransitive verb, dative marker, causative marker and passive marker in different languages (e.g. Chinese, Thai and Akan). The multifunctionality of the ‘give’ verb is also attested in Hui’an, where khɔ5 與 ‘give’ can not only be used as a ditransitive verb, dative marker, permissive verb, causative verb and passive marker, but also as a perspective marker, concessive marker, purposive marker and speaker-affectedness marker. This chapter aims to give a brief introduction to the different uses of khɔ5 ‘give’ in Hui’an.
18.2 As a ditransitive verb and perspective marker 18.2.1 As a ditransitive verb Khɔ5 ‘give’, as a ditransitive verb, can be followed by an indirect object and a direct object, i.e. ‘khɔ5 IO DO’, as in (1), where gua3 我 ‘me’ is the indirect object, while lin2-4tau1tsin2 年兜錢 ‘gift money’ is the direct object. (1)
VGIVE NPIO NPDO 伊 與 我 年兜錢 i1 khɔ5-4 gua3-2 lin2-4tau1-tsin2 3SG give 1SG New.Year-money ‘He gave me gift money.’
Only three examples of utterances with the structure of ‘khɔ5 IO DO’ are found in our spoken data. In addition, these three examples are spoken by the younger generation. Although such a [V NP NP] configuration is often taken to be the prototypical ditransitive construction, it is not at all characteristic of the Hui’an dialect, where the direct object typically appears before the verb functioning as a topic as in (2), or undergoes deletion as in (3).
|| Note: A preliminary version of this chapter also appeared in Chen & Matthews (2009). https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-018
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(2) NPDO VGIVE NPIO 雞翼 與 恁 爸仔 kue1-set8 khɔ5-4 len3-2 pa2-a0 chicken-wing give 2PL father-NM ‘Give your father the chicken wing.’ (3) VGIVE NPIO 儂 卜 與 伊 其 laŋ4 boʔ7-8 khɔ5-4 i1 e0 other want give 3SG SFP ‘The person wants to give (it) to him.’ In (2), kue1set8 ‘chicken wing’, being direct object, is fronted and placed in the preverbal position. In (3), the direct object, kue1 ‘chicken’, is omitted but can be found in the preceding context. The structure of these two examples can be represented as ‘(DO) khɔ5 IO’. Example (4) below shows that even the indirect object can be simultaneously omitted. (4) NPAGENT VGIVE ADV ADJ 可能 𪜶 懷 與 恰 儕 khɔ3-2liŋ2 en1 huai2 khɔ5-4 khaʔ7-8 tsue5 possibly 3PL those give comparatively much ‘They may give (her) more (money than other people).’ As with the examples above, khɔ5 in (4) is also the only verb in the utterance. Both direct object and indirect object, however, are omitted and can be found in the preceding context. Furthermore, this also indicates that the arguments of the verb are not obligatorily overt in Hui’an.
18.2.2 As a perspective marker The ditransitive verb khɔ5 can be used in a hypothetical situation, as in (5).
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(5) 卜 與 我, 我 呣愛 食 boʔ7-8 khɔ5-4 gua3 gua3 m5-4-ai5-3 tsiaʔ8 want give 1SG 1SG not-like eat (a) ‘If (he) gives me (something), I would not want to eat (it).’ (b) ‘If it were me, I would not want to eat (it).’ In (5), the first clause boʔ7-8 khɔ5-4 gua3 has two possible interpretations: (a) a ‘giving’ action in a hypothetical situation, in which khɔ5 is used as a ditransitive verb; and (b) irrealis, expressing the meaning of ‘if it were me’, in which khɔ5 is no longer a ditransitive verb, but can be regarded as a perspective marker (see §23.5). The ‘give’ verb used as a perspective marker is also attested in Akan, as in (6) (cf. Lord et al. 2002:222). (6) D-yD den ma me it-is difficult give me ‘It is difficult for me.’ Lord et al. suggest that the object of ‘give’ in (6) is the person from whose perspective or point of view something is difficult, and consequently that the ‘give’ morpheme functions as a marker of perspective (or stance). They also point out that in this use of ‘give’, the preceding verb (i.e. den ‘difficult’) refers to a state rather than an activity.
18.3 As a dative marker When used as the second verb in serial verb constructions of the form ‘(NP1) VP (NP2) khɔ5 NP3’, khɔ5 is used to introduce the recipient and can be regarded as a dative marker. NP2, the object of the first verb, can be overt like lŋ4 paʔ7 兩百 ‘two hundred (yuan)’ in (7), or omitted as in (8). (7) (NP1) VP NP2 khɔ5 NP3 分 兩 百 與 伊 pun1 lŋ4 paʔ7 khɔ5 i0 distribute two hundred give 3SG ‘Give him two hundred (yuan).’
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(8)
(NP1) VP (NP2) khɔ5 NP3 落車 洗 與 伊 loʔ8-4-tshia1 sue3 khɔ5 i0 descend-vehicle wash give 3SG ‘Wash (it) and give (it to) her after getting out of the bus.’
In (7), NP2 is lŋ4 paʔ7 ‘two hundred’. In (8), NP2 is covert and can be found from the previous context. The first verb in the serial verb construction ‘(NP1) VP (NP2) khɔ5 NP3’ can be classified into two types: (a) verbs implying a ‘giving’ action such as pun1 ‘distribute’ in (7); and (b) extended dative verbs without a ‘giving’ action such as sue3 ‘wash’ in (8). The serial verb construction provides an environment for the second verb khɔ5 ‘give’ to lose its verbhood and become decategorized as a dative marker. In Mandarin Chinese, the dative marker gěi 給 (< gěi ‘give’) can occur in three different positions, as shown by the following three examples (see Zhu 1982:170). (9) V + DO + gěi + IO 送 一 本 書 給 他 (Mandarin Chinese) sòng yī běn shū gěi tā send one CL book give 3SG ‘send him a book’/ ‘give him a book (as a present)’ (10) V + gěi + IO + DO 送 給 他 一 件 毛衣 (Mandarin Chinese) sòng gěi tā yī jiàn máoyī send give 3SG one CL sweater ‘send him a sweater’/ ‘give him a sweater (as a present)’ (11) gěi + IO + V + DO 給 他 織 了 一 件 毛衣 (Mandarin Chinese) gěi tā zhī le yī jiàn máoyī give 3SG knit PFV one CL sweater ‘knit a sweater for him’ In (9), the dative marker gěi in Mandarin Chinese occurs after ‘V + DO’. In (10), gěi is placed immediately after the verb. In (11), the dative marker gěi, with its following indirect object, occurs as a prepositional phrase before the verb and the direct object, and in the majority of cases codes a benefactive meaning.
As a (permissive) causative verb | 341
In Hui’an, however, the dative marker khɔ5 typically occurs after the verb and the direct object, as shown by examples (7) and (8) above, but not in the other two positions. The development from a ‘give’ verb to a dative marker is not uncommon in Chinese, nor in other serial verb languages such as Vietnamese (see Newman 1996; Heine & Kuteva 2002; Lord et al. 2002; Yap & Iwasaki 2003; Chappell & Peyraube 2007, inter alia).
18.4 As a (permissive) causative verb Khɔ5 can function as a permissive verb when it is the first verb in a serial construction ‘khɔ5 NP VP’, as illustrated by (12b). (12) 呣 與 儂 食 tsiaʔ8 m5-4 khɔ5-4 laŋ4 not give other eat (a) ‘(He) doesn’t want to give (it) to others to eat.’ (NEG + khɔ5GIVE + IO +V) (b) ‘(He) doesn’t allow others to eat (it).’ (NEG + khɔ5 PERMIT + NPCAUSEE + V) In (12), khɔ5 is vague in status between a ditransitive verb and a permissive verb, since it can be interpreted as ‘giving’ in (12a) or ‘permit, allow’ in (12b). In (12a), NP, laŋ4 ‘other’, is interpreted as the indirect object of khɔ5 and is followed by another verb tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’. In (12b), however, the same NP (i.e. laŋ4 ‘other’) is no longer interpreted as the recipient but rather as the causee and subject of following verb, tsiaʔ8 ‘eat’. The omitted subject, and the causer, i1 ‘he’, is understood as not allowing (or let) the others to eat the food. Thus, the event of giving undergoes semantic extension in this structure with a complex predicate to the notion of permission or enabling the causee NP to carry out the action they wish to do. Note also that, though both two interpretations are possible, interpretation (b) is preferred. Two more typical examples of khɔ5 as a permissive verb are given in (13) and (14). (13) khɔ5 + NP + V 與 伊 去 5-4 1 khɔ i khɯ5 give 3SG go ‘Let him go.’
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(14) NEG + khɔ5 + NP + V 無嗵 與 我 講 bo2-4-thaŋ1 khɔ5-4 gua3-2 kaŋ3 not.have-can give 1SG say ‘(She) doesn’t allow me to say (anything).’ In both these two examples, khɔ5 no longer expresses ‘giving’ in its original meaning, since there is no object to be passed from the giver to the recipient. In (13), khɔ5 has two possible interpretations: (a) allow someone to do something by giving permission; and (b) express a suggestion, without a permissive meaning. The first interpretation implies that someone, who is not the speaker, has initially not allowed the NP i1 ‘he’ to go. The second interpretation, however, does not imply this. In (14), khɔ5 is used in a negative context, and can be glossed exclusively as ‘allow, permit’. Note that generally this is regarded as a type of causative known as the ‘permissive causative use’ (see Newman 1996; Yap & Iwsaki 2003; Chappell & Peyraube 2007). The non-permissive causative use of khɔ5 is exemplified by (15) and (16). (15) khɔ5 + NP + VAGENTIVE 㑑 呣免 管, lan3 m5-4ben3-2 kuan3 1PL no.need interfere 與 伊 家 去 努力 5-4 1 5-4 5-3 khɔ i kai khɯ lɔ4liak8 give 3SG self go endeavour ‘There is no need for us to interfere in (his affair), let him fight for himself.’ (16) khɔ5 + NP + VSTATE 汝 與 我 否勢 遘 lɯ3 khɔ5-4 gua3-2 phai3-2se5 a3 2SG give 1SG embarrassed EVC ‘You make me feel very embarrassed.’ The context of (15) is that family members are talking about an emotional problem of one of their relatives and the mother says that we do not need to interfere. On the one hand, while the verb khɔ5 no longer has its original meaning of ‘giving’ in this example, yet, on the other, nor is it a case of giving permission, and as such can be regarded as a causative of the non-interference type. In addition, i1 ‘he’ here is agentive and retains volitional control over the action of fighting. In
As a purposive marker | 343
example (16), however, the causee gua3 ‘me’ is not agentive and does not perform an action, as the phrase phai3-2se5 a3 ‘very embarrassed’ indicates a change of state. In addition, the caused event of my being embarrassed is not expected by the causer lɯ3 ‘you’. This is a case of ‘unintentional causation of a new state’ in Chappell’s classification (Chappell 1992). The difference between these two causative constructions can also be seen from the translations: khɔ5 in (15) is similar to English let, while khɔ5 in (16) functions like the English verb make. This means that khɔ5 GIVE is very versatile as a causative verb since it may co-occur with both agentive (+ control) V2s and also non-control states and events. These are two different semantic types of causatives determined by the nature of the complex predicate among other parameters (cf. Comrie 1989; Shibatani & Pardeshi 2002; Chappell & Peyraube 2007).
18.5 As a purposive marker When both preceded and followed by another verb (phrase), the causative verb khɔ5 tends to be reinterpreted as a purpose marker, as in (17) and (18). (17) VP + khɔ5 + NP + VP 創 歌 與 媽仔 聽 tshɔŋ5-3 kua1 khɔ5-4 bã2-a0 thiã1 do song give mother-NM listen ‘Play music for mother to listen to.’ (18) VP + khɔ5 + NP + VP 拍 與 伊 吼 7 5-4 1 phaʔ khɔ i hau3 hit give 3SG cry ‘(She) hits him so that he cries.’ In (17), the purpose of the action coded by the first clause, tshɔŋ5-3 kua1 ‘play music’, is to achieve the planned outcome of khɔ5-4 bã2a0 thiã1 ‘let mother listen to (it)’. Similarly, khɔ5-4 i1 hau3 ‘let him cry’ in (18) can be regarded as the purpose of the action denoted by phaʔ7 ‘hit’ in the preceding phrase. In both cases, khɔ5 can be interpreted as a purposive marker (cf. Newman 1996: 171-181; Heine & Kuteva 2002: 154-155; Yap & Iwasaki 2003). The VP that occurs after the purposive marker khɔ5 can contain an adjective (phrase), as in (19).
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(19) VP + khɔ5 + 3SG + ADJ 食 與 伊 飽 tsiaʔ8 khɔ5-4 i1 pa3 eat give 3SG full ‘Eat your fill!’ Similar structures in Southern Min and Thai are mentioned in Newman (1996:180), where the ‘give’ verb is translated as ‘until (some state is achieved)’ (see also Embree 1973:89).
18.6 As a passive and speaker-affectedness marker The ‘give’ verb khɔ5 in Hui’an can also function as a passive marker, as in (20). (20) NPPATIENT + GIVE + NPAGENT + VPTRANSITIVE 我 與 伊 罵 gua3 khɔ5-4 i1 bã5 1SG give 3SG scold ‘I got scolded by him.’ In (20), khɔ5 is used to introduce the agent of the transitive verb bã5 ‘scold’ (i.e. i1 ‘he’). This use of khɔ5 is termed ‘agent marker’ or ‘passive marker’. As shown by this example, the passive ‘give’ construction in Hui’an often denotes an unexpected and unfortunate event, like passive constructions in other Chinese varieties (see Chappell 2015). The use of ‘give’ verb as a passive marker is unusual typologically, but can be attested in a large number of Chinese in Central and Southeastern China, and certain Western Malay dialects and Manchu-Tungusic languages (cf. Yap & Iwasaki 2003; Chappell 2015). Previous studies have shown that the use of a ‘give’ verb as a passive marker has developed from its use as a causative verb, i.e. following the pathway ‘causative > passive’ (see Yue-Hashimoto 1976; Hashimoto 1986; Yap & Iwasaki 2003, 2007; Chappell & Peyraube 2006; inter alia). In the passive ‘give’ construction, the verb phrase following the passive marker khɔ5 is always a transitive one, as, for example, the transitive verb bã5 ‘scold’ in (20). Notably, the verb phrase in Hui’an can be extended to use with intransitive unaccusative ones, as in (21).
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(21) NPPATIENT/THEME + khɔ5 + 3SG + VPUNACCUSATIVE 花 與 伊 死 去 hue1 khɔ5-4 i1 si3 khɯ0 flower give 3SG die PVC ‘Unfortunately, the flower has died.’ In (21), the predicate si3 khɯ0 ‘die’ is unaccusative, and the whole construction denotes adversity and unexpectedness, that is, the fact that ‘the flower has died’ is perceived as an unfortunate and unexpected event by the speaker. The third person singular pronoun i1 that follows the ‘give’ verb (khɔ5) is obligatory. This pronoun is highly grammaticalized and pleonastic in that it is not constrained by person and number agreement, and can be incorporated into the ‘give’ verb to form 與伊 khɔ5-1 (< khɔ5-4 i1). In this construction, khɔ5-4 i1 as a whole, or khɔ5-1 (with i1 incorporated), is used to indicate that the speaker is emotionally affected by what has happened, and is thus regarded as a marker of speaker affectedness in Chen & Yap (2018). This use of the ‘give’ verb is typologically rare, but can be attested in some other Chinese varieties, especially in other Southern Min varieties and some Mandarin varieties. However, in Mandarin varieties, the third person singular pronoun that follows the ‘give’ morpheme is usually dispreferred and often omitted. Chen & Yap (2018) have identified two major pathways in the development of this ‘give’ construction, i.e. the causative pathway (e.g. the mainland Mandarin varieties) and the passive-mediated pathway (e.g. Southern Min) (For more details see Chen & Yap 2018; see also Matthews et al. 2005; Lin 2011; Huang 2013).
18.7 As a concessive marker The permissive verb khɔ5 can be used in a hypothetical situation, as in (22), which expresses permission for speaking in an irrealis context. (22) VP, khɔ5 + NP + VP 卜 講, 與 伊 講 boʔ7-8 kaŋ3 khɔ5-4 i1 kaŋ3 want say give 3SG say ‘Let (him) speak if (he) wants.’ The following seems to be another example of khɔ5 as a permissive verb in an irrealis context.
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(23) VP, ADJ + khɔ5-1(or khɔ5 + 3SG) + ADJ 裝修 者, 否看 與 否看 tsɔŋ1siu1 tse0 phai3-2-khuã5 khɔ5-1 phai3-2-khuã5 renovate DELIM bad-look give bad-look ‘(It is better) to renovate (it), ugly though it may be.’ In (23), the second clause phai3-2khuã5 khɔ5-1 phai3-2khuã5 ‘ugly though it may be’ can also be interpreted as ‘just allow it to be ugly, if it has to be’, in which phai32 khuã5 ‘ugly’ is not the actual state at the time of speech, but refers to what may happen in the future. In other words, khɔ5 can be regarded here as a permissive verb used in an irrealis context. However, unlike example (22) in which the permissive clause khɔ5-4 i1 kaŋ3 ‘permit (him) to speak’ is preceded by the conditional clause boʔ7-8 kaŋ3 ‘if (he) wants to speak’, khɔ5-1 (< khɔ5-4 i1) in example (23) is placed between the same two adjectives (i.e. phai3-2khuã5 ‘ugly’). More importantly, ‘VP khɔ5-1 VP’ such as (23) has become a fixed phrase expressing concession, as shown by the translation ‘ugly though it may be’. In other words, khɔ5 here also indicates concession, and may be regarded as a concessive marker. A similar function in Mandarin Chinese is encoded by the adverb jiù 就, as in (24). (24) ADJ + jiù + ADJ 貴 就 貴 唄 (Mandarin Chinese) guì jiù guì bei expensive ADV expensive SFP ‘expensive though it may be’
18.8 Summary This chapter focuses on the ‘give’ construction in Hui’an. The ‘give’ verb khɔ5 takes on a range of functions: as a ditransitive verb, dative marker, (permissive) causative verb, purposive marker, passive marker, speaker-affectedness marker, perspective marker, and concessive marker. These functions may occur in different, though related, syntactic structures. The development pathways can be simply represented as follows: (i) ditransitive verb > dative marker (ii) ditransitive verb > perspective marker (iii) ditransitve verb > (permissive) causative verb > purposive marker (iv) ditransitive verb > (permissive) causative verb > passive marker > speakeraffectedness marker (v) ditransitive verb > (permissive) causative verb > concessive marker
19 Interrogatives 19.1 Introduction According to Siemund (2001:1010-1011), three types of interrogatives across the world’s languages can be differentiated according to the kind of information sought: (a) polar interrogatives (or Yes-No questions): ‘to ask whether a proposition or its negation is true’, as in (1a); (b) constituent interrogatives (or questions formed with an interrogative pronoun): ‘to inquire which values (if any) instantiate the variable of an open proposition’, as in (1b); and (c) alternative interrogatives: ‘to query which element of a set of alternatives makes an open sentence true’, as in (1c). (1)
a. Does a platypus lay eggs? b. What is a platypus? c. Is a platypus a mammal or a bird?
In Hui’an, polar interrogatives can be marked by a series of strategies such as interrogative particles, interrogative intonation, disjunctive structures and the addition of tags. Note that disjunctive structures are typically used for alternative interrogatives, but also function as a device for indicating polar interrogatives in Chinese (cf. Ernst 1994; Matthews & Yip 2011; Siemund 2001). In the following sections, interrogatives in Hui’an will be examined in the order of alternative interrogatives, polar interrogatives and constituent interrogatives.
19.2 Alternative interrogatives In alternative interrogatives, ‘the speaker offers the addressee a list of possible answers from which he is supposed to choose the correct one’ (Siemund 2001:1012). In Mandarin Chinese, the disjuncts of alternative interrogatives are connected by the alternative marker háishì 還是 ‘or’, as in (2). (2) The alternative interrogative in Mandarin Chinese A + háishì 還是 + B 你 去, 還是 他 去? nĭ qù háishì tā qù 2SG go or he go ‘Are you going or is he?’ https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-019
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In Hui’an, the disjuncts of alternative interrogatives are typically connected by the alternative marker aʔ8-4si4 抑是 or aʔ8 抑, as in (3) and (4), respectively. In other words, the alternative interrogative in Hui’an typically takes the form of [A + aʔ84 4 si /aʔ8 + B]. (3) A + aʔ8-4si4 + B 蘋果 抑是 2-4 3 phiŋ kɔ aʔ8-4-si4 apple or-be ‘Apple or pear?’
梨仔 lai2-4-a3 pear-NM
(4) A + aʔ8 + B 卜 (扌罪) 工作 抑 卜 boʔ7-8 tshǝ5-4 kaŋ1tsɔk7 aʔ8-4 boʔ7-8 want look.for job or want ‘(Do you) want to find a job or study?’
讀冊 thak8-4tsheʔ7 study
It can be seen from these two examples that the disjuncts can be encoded by a noun, e.g. phiŋ2-4kɔ3 ‘apple’ in (3), or a verb phrase, e.g. tshǝ5-4 kaŋ1tsɔk7 ‘find a job’ in (4). The first adjunct in alternative interrogatives in Hui’an may be preceded by the copular verb si4 是, as in (5), where the first adjunct phiŋ2-4kɔ3 蘋果 ‘apple’ follows the copular verb si4. (5) si4 + A + aʔ8-4(si4) + B (+ a0 啊) 是 蘋果 抑(是) 香蕉 啊 si4 phiŋ2-4kɔ3 aʔ8-4(-si4) kiŋ1tsio1 a0 be apple or(-be) banana SFP ‘Is (it) an apple or a banana?’ This example shows that the alternative interrogative in Hui’an can also take the form of [si4 + A + aʔ8-4si4/aʔ8 + B], which is however less common than [A + aʔ8/aʔ84 4 si + B] (without the first copular verb si4) as illustrated by (3) and (4) above. Furthermore, when the first adjunct is preceded by the copular verb si4, the second adjunct tends to be preceded by the alternative marker aʔ8-4si4, rather than by the marker aʔ8. In other words, in example (5), speakers prefer the use of aʔ84 4 si (rather than aʔ8) to connect the adjuncts phiŋ2-4kɔ3 ‘apple’ and kiŋ1tsio1 ‘banana’. Note also that, the sentence-final particle a0 啊 can be used in alternative interrogatives in Hui’an, as demonstrated by example (5). This
Polar interrogatives | 349
particle is optional in that it could also occur at the end of the interrogative in (3) and (4).
19.3 Polar interrogatives As mentioned above, strategies for marking polar interrogatives in Hui’an include interrogative particles, interrogative intonation, disjunctive structures and tag questions. Note that, crosslinguistically speaking, interrogative particles and interrogative intonation are two main methods of indicating that an utterance is a polar interrogative, while using disjunctive structures to express polar interrogatives as in Southern Min and other Chinese varieties is not common in the languages of the world (cf. Dryer 2005:470). Interrogative particles in Hui’an include a0 啊, m0 呣, bǝ0 未, bo0 無 and bue0 𣍐, of which m0, bǝ0, bo0 and bue0 are derived from negative forms m5 ‘not’, bǝ5 ‘not yet’, bo2 ‘not have’ and bue4 ‘cannot’, respectively, with tonal reduction. Note that negative forms in polar interrogatives with the disjunctive structure VP-NEG are a common source of sentence-final interrogative particles in Chinese (cf. Li 1992; Wu 1997, inter alia). For convenience of comparison, we will firstly examine polar interrogatives involving disjunctive structures.
19.3.1 Interrogatives with disjunctive structures In Hui’an, this type of polar interrogative typically consists of an affirmative sentence followed by its negative counterpart, with or without the alternative marker aʔ8 抑 ‘or’, more specifically, taking the form of VP-or-NEG-VP, VP-NEG-VP and VP-or-NEG.1 The latter two forms (VP-NEG-VP and VP-or-NEG) are both shortened versions of the first one (VP-or-NEG-VP). All these three structures semantically convey an interrogative meaning which is neutral in assumption on the part of the speaker, that is, there are no expectations regarding the answer on the part of the addressee, either expressed or implied.
|| 1 In the literature, VP-NEG-VP and VP-NEG, along with ADV-VP, are often called zhèngfǎn wènjù 正反問句, fǎnfù wènjù 反復問句, the ‘A-not-A’ question, the ‘V-not-V’ question or ‘neutral question’ (cf. Li & Thompson 1981; Zhu 1982; Yue 1993; Matthews & Yip 1994; Zhang 2000, inter alia). The ‘A-not-A’ pattern (also ‘V-not-V’) often functions as a cover term for ‘VP-NEG-VP’ and ‘VPNEG’. ADV-VP is also neutral in presupposition and refers to the interrogative pattern bearing the attachment of an interrogative adverb to a VP.
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The ‘VP-NEG’ pattern (without a disjunct marker), which is widely used in Chinese, especially Southern Chinese, is not mentioned here, since negative markers in the ‘VP-NEG’ pattern of the Hui’an dialect have developed into sentence-final interrogative particles, even though they show different degrees of grammaticalization (see §19.3.2). 19.3.1.1 VP-or-NEG-VP The VP-or-NEG-VP type refers to the juxtaposition of a predicate and its syntactically negated form with the alternative marker aʔ8 ‘or’, as illustrated by (6) and (7). (6) 焦 抑 無 焦 1 8-4 2-4 ta aʔ bo ta1 dry or not.have dry ‘Is it dry?’ (7) 汝 卜 去 抑 呣 去 啊 lɯ3 boʔ7-8 khɯ5 aʔ8-4 m5-4 khɯ5 a0 2SG want go or not go SFP ‘Do you want to go?’ In (6), VP is encoded by the predicative adjective ta1 ‘dry’, and the expression bo24 ta1 ‘not dry’ functions as its negative counterpart. In (7), the VP and its negative form are encoded by the verb phrases boʔ7-8 khɯ5 ‘want to go’ and m5-4 khɯ5 ‘not want to go’, respectively. The VPs always contain the same verb except when the copular verb si4 is used as the copy, as in (8) below. (8) 口 會 開 啤酒瓶 抑 呣 是 啊 tse2 e4 khui1 pi2-4tsiu3-2-pan2 aʔ8-4 m5-4 si4 a0 this can open beer-bottle or not be SFP ‘Can this be used to open the beer bottle?’ In (8), NEG-VP is encoded by m5-4 si4 ‘not be’ (consisting of the general negative m5 ‘not’ and the copular verb si4), rather than by bue4 khui1 pi2-4tsiu3-2pan2𣍐開啤 酒瓶 ‘cannot open the beer bottle’, the typical negative counterpart of the verb phrase e4 khui1 pi2-4tsiu3-2pan2. The reason for using the copular verb as the copy
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may be that the affirmative form is a relatively complicated verb phrase, consisting of the modal auxiliary verb e4, the verb khui1 and its three-syllable object pi24 tsiu3-2pan2. 19.3.1.2 VP-NEG-VP VP-NEG-VP differs from VP-or-NEG-VP in that the predicate and its syntactically negated form are not connected by the alternative marker aʔ8 ‘or’. The VP here can be a verb such as the copular verb si4 是 ‘be’ in (9), or the adjective ho3 好 ‘good’ in (10). (9) 伊 是 呣 是 野 口 啊 i1 si4 m5-4 si4 ia3-2 thiak7 a0 3SG be not be quite beautiful SFP ‘Is she very beautiful?’ (10) 即支 鼎 好 無 好 7-8 1 3 3 2-4 tsit -ki tiã ho bo ho3 this-CL pot good not.have good ‘Is this pot good?’ The VP can also be a verb phrase such as siɔŋ2-4 lai2 常來 ‘come often’ in (11). (11) 伊 常 來 無 siɔŋ2-4 lai2 bo2-4 i1 3SG often come not.have ‘Does he often come (here)?’
常 來 siɔŋ2-4 lai2 often come
This type of interrogative is prevalent in the Northern Chinese, though it can be attested in all of the major Chinese varieties including Southern Min (cf. Yue 1993:42). In Hui’an, it is not commonly used in daily conversation: all the examples are produced via elicitation, except those with the VP being the copular verb si4 ‘be’, as in (9) above. 19.3.1.3 VP-or-NEG Two examples of VP-or-NEG interrogatives are given in (12) and (13).
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(12) 汝 卜 按 即搭 lɯ3 boʔ7-8 an5-3 tsit7-8-taʔ7-8 2SG want from this-LOC ‘Do you want to go from here?’ (13) 伊 有 錢 抑 i1 u4 tsin2 aʔ8-4 3SG have money or ‘Does he have money?’
去 khɯ5 go
抑 aʔ8-4 or
呣 m5 not
無 bo2 not.have
In (12), the volitional negative m5 alone functions as the negative form of the disjunctive structure. Similarly, the perfective negative bo2 in (13) is used alone as the negative counterpart of the verb phrase u4 tsin2 ‘have money’. In both examples, the negative form plays an equally important part as its affirmative counterpart, even though the affirmative one is encoded by a more complex verb phrase, as in (12). This is consistent with the fact that the negative forms m5 and bo2 in (12) and (13) are in their citation tones, unlike the interrogative particles m0 (< the negative m5) and bo0 (< the negative bo2), which are in the neutral tone, as will be shown in the following section.
19.3.2 Particle interrogatives As with Mandarin Chinese and other Chinese dialects, polar interrogatives in Hui’an can be formed by adding an interrogative particle to a statement. As mentioned above, interrogative particles in Hui’an include a0 啊, m0 呣, bǝ0 未, bo0 無 and bue0𣍐, of which m0, bǝ0, bo0 and bue0 are derived from negative words m5 ‘not’, bǝ5 ‘not yet’, bo2 ‘not have’ and bue4 ‘cannot’, respectively, with tonal reduction. In the following sections, interrogatives formed by these five particles will be examined one by one, followed by a brief explanation of the status of the particles m0, bǝ0, bo0 and bue0 and their neutral tones. 19.3.2.1 a0 啊 Polar interrogatives with the particle a0 啊 may indicate disbelief, as in (14), or surprise, as in (15).
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(14) 恁 則 坐 蜀字 久 啊 len3 tsiaʔ7-8 tsǝ4 tsit8-4-li5-4 ku3 a0 2PL only sit one-quarter long SFP ‘You only stayed (there) for 15 minutes?’ (15) 汝 無 共 儂 lɯ3 bo2-4 ka5-4 laŋ4 2SG not.have to other ‘You didn’t tell him?’
說 sǝʔ7 say
啊 a0 SFP
The context of (14) is that the persons addressed come back home from a visit to one of their relatives, and the speaker, who has stayed at home waiting for their return, does not believe they could have stayed at the home of their relative for only 15 minutes, unaware that they also went to a supermarket. In (15), the speaker is surprised that the addressee did not tell soemthing to another person. The following example illustrates that polar interrogatives with the particle a0 can also be used to ask for confirmation. (16) 呣 食 啊 5-4 8 tsiaʔ a0 m not eat SFP ‘You don’t want to eat?’ In (16), the speaker guesses that the addressee does not want to eat anything, and uses the interrogative with a0 to ask for confirmation. Note that the interrogative particle a0 is not restricted to polar interrogatives as in (14) – (16), but can also be used in alternative interrogatives (see §19.2) and constituent interrogatives (see §19.4). In other words, this particle in Hui’an is not the counterpart of the interrogative particle ma 嗎 in Mandarin Chinese, which is only used in polar interrogatives. 19.3.2.2 m0 呣 Polar interrogatives with the particle m0 呣 can be used to ask whether something is true, as in (17) and (18), or whether a course of action is desirable, as in (19). (17) 汝 是 大學生 呣 3 4 5-4 8-4 1 lɯ si tua oʔ siŋ m0 2SG be university.student SFP ‘Are you a university student?’
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(18) 好看 呣 ho3-2-khuã5 m0 good-look SFP ‘Does it look good?’ (19) 汝 卜 食 呣 lɯ3 boʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8 m0 2SG want eat SFP ‘Do you want to eat?’ In (17), the particle m0 is used with the copular clause lɯ3 si4 tua5-4oʔ8-4siŋ1 ‘you are a university student’, asking whether it is true that the addressee is a university student. In (18), m0 is preceded by the adjective ho3-2khuã5 ‘good-looking’ to ask whether the existence of the property ho3-2khuã5 is true. In (19), m0 is preceded by the verb phrase boʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8 ‘want to eat’ to ask whether the addressee’s desire to eat something is true (Compare with a similar example with a0 in (16)). All these three examples typically convey an interrogative meaning which is neutral in presupposition. The following two examples show two other semantic uses of the particle m0. (20) 汝 八 來 即搭 lɯ3 pat7-8 lai2-4 tsit7-8-taʔ7 2SG EXP come that-LOC ‘Have you been here?’
呣 m0 SFP
(21) 汝 知 爸仔 障 說 lɯ3 tsai1 pa2-a0 tsiũ5-3 sǝʔ7 2SG know father-NM how say ‘Do you know what father said?’
呣 m0 SFP
The context of (20) is that the addressee looks familiar to the speaker, even though they are meeting each other for the first time. This example is used by the speaker to invite confirmation. In (21), the father has said something earlier to the speaker, when the addressee was not on the spot, and this interrogative form is used by the speaker to attract the addressee’s attention. In Hui’an, m5 (with Tone 5, rather than neutral tone), functions as a general negative meaning ‘not’, and as a volitional negative meaning ‘not want, not willing to’ (see chapter 13). Accordingly, the interrogative particle m0 (with neutral tone) can follow a state which involves a verb such as the copular verb si4 in (17)
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and the volitional modal verb boʔ7 in (19). Unlike the general negative m5 which is basically not used to negate adjectives, the particle m0 can occur with an adjective such as ho3-2khuã5 ‘good-looking’ in (18). In other words, compared to the general negative m5, the interrogative particle m0 undergoes generalization in that it can be used in more contexts. Unlike its use as the negative form in disjunctive structures (e.g. VP-or-NEG in §19.3.1.3 above), m0 in (17) – (19) has lost its original tone and is in a neutral tone, which shows that m0 no longer plays an equally important part as the constituents in its preceding verb phrase. In other words, m0 in (17) – (19) neither functions as an adverb negating a predicate (see chapter 13), nor functions as the negative form in disjunctive structures (see §19.3.1.3), but functions as an interrogative particle to form a particle polar interrogative. In addition, unlike polar interrogatives with disjunctive structures which typically convey an interrogative meaning neutral in assumption, polar interrogatives with the particle m0 can also be used to invite confirmation or to attract the addressee’s attention. All these show that the morpheme m5 in Hui’an involves an extension from a negative marker to an interrogative particle, with tonal reduction. 19.3.2.3 bǝ0 未 As mentioned above, the interrogative particle bǝ0 未 is derived from the negator bǝ5 ‘not yet’. When functioning as a particle in polar interrogatives, bǝ0 is typically used to ask whether something has occurred, as in (22), where bǝ0 follows the verb ket7-8hun1 結婚 ‘marry’, asking whether he has got married or not. (22) 伊 結婚 未 ket7-8hun1 bǝ0 i1 3SG marry SFP ‘Has he got married?’ When used with boʔ7 卜 ‘want’ in polar interrogatives, the particle bǝ0 asks whether something is about to happen, as in (23). The particle bǝ0 here is used with the expectation that the event will happen but has not yet taken place. (23) 𪜶 卜 來 未 en1 boʔ7-8 lai2 bǝ0 3PL want come SFP ‘Are they about to come?’
356 | Interrogatives
19.3.2.4 bo0 無 The particle bo0 無, derived from the negator bo2 ‘not exist, not have’, is often used with the verb (or auxiliary verb) u4 有 ‘exist, have’, as illustrated by (24) – (26). (24) 搭 有 插頭 tshaʔ7-8-thau2 taʔ7 u4 here have plug ‘Is there a plug here?’
無 bo0 SFP
(25) 汝 後尾 有 挽 無 lɯ3 au4bǝ3 u4 ban3 bo0 2SG back have pull SFP ‘Did you pull out your back (teeth)?’ (26) 有 夠 燒 無 4 5-3 1 u kau sio bo0 have enough warm SFP ‘Is it warm enough?’ A noun, an action verb or adjective (phrase) can be inserted between the verb u4 ‘have’ and the particle bo0. When there is only one noun argument such as tshaʔ78 thau2 ‘plug’ in (24), the polar interrogative asks whether something (e.g. a plug) exists. When it is an action verb such as ban3 ‘pull’ in (25), the interrogative asks whether something (i.e. pulling out the back teeth) has happened. When it is an adjective phrase such as kau5-3 sio1 ‘warm enough’ in (26), the interrogative asks whether a state (i.e. warm enough) exists. The particle bo0 can also be used alone without u4, as in (27) and (28). (27) 伊 經常 來 無 kiŋ1siɔŋ2-4 lai2 bo0 i1 3SG often come SFP ‘Does he come here often?’ (28) 迄搭 恰 省 無 hit7-8-taʔ7 khaʔ7-8 siŋ3 bo0 that-LOC comparatively cheap SFP ‘Is it cheaper there?/It is cheaper there, right?’
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Example (27) is used to ask whether someone comes here often, without implying that the speaker has an expectation of a positive or negative answer. Example (28), however, is used to invite confirmation. In other words, this interrogative is a ‘biased one’ in terms of the subjectivity, that is, the speaker’s stance. This use of the particle bo0 is similar to the function of the interrogative particle ba 吧 in Mandarin Chinese (see Li & Thompson 1981:307-311). As shown by these examples, unlike its use as the negative form in disjunctive structures (e.g. VP-or-NEG in §19.3.1.3 above), the particle bo0 has lost its original tone, and no longer plays an equally important part as its preceding predicate. Unlike polar interrogatives with disjunctive structures which semantically convey an interrogative meaning which is neutral in assumption (see §19.3.1), polar interrogatives with the particle bo0 can also be used to invite confirmation, thus implicating the attitude of the speaker, as illustrated by example (28). 19.3.2.5 bue0 𣍐 In Hui’an, bue4 (with Tone 4) can be a verb meaning ‘know, understand’, or a modal auxiliary verb expressing possibility such as ability, permission and epistemic possibility (see chapter 12). As mentioned in §19.3.1.3 above, bue4 can also be used alone as the negative form in polar interrogatives with disjunctive structures. When functioning as a sentence-final interrogative particle, bue0 is in neutral tone (i.e. no longer retains its citation tone) and is often used with its affirmative counterpart e4 ‘can’, as in (29) and (30). (29) 伊 會 說 廣東話 1 4 7-8 e sǝʔ kŋ3-2taŋ1ue5 i 3SG can speak Cantonese ‘Can he speak Cantonese?’
𣍐 bue0 SFP
(30) 汝 說 今日 會 落雨 lɯ3 sǝʔ7-8 kia͂ 1let8 e4 loʔ8-4-hɔ4 2SG say today can fall-rain ‘Do you think it will rain today?’
𣍐 bue0 SFP
The following example shows that the particle bue0 can be used without e4. (31) 即垛 否看 𣍐 7-8 5 3-2 5 tsit -tǝ phai -khuã bue0 this-CL bad-look SFP ‘Would this (table) be ugly?’
358 | Interrogatives
19.3.2.6 Status of particles m0, bǝ0, bo0 and bue0 As mentioned above, all these four sentence-final interrogative particles are derived from their use as a negator, i.e. m5 ‘not’, bǝ5 ‘not yet’, bo2 ‘not have’ and bue4 ‘cannot’, respectively. Unlike their use as the negative form in polar interrogatives with disjunctive structures (e.g. VP-or-NEG), these interrogative particles have all lost their original tones and are in a neutral tone, which shows that they no longer play the same role as when they occur in the preceding verb phrases. In addition, some syntactic restrictions that we saw pertain to the VP-negators do not apply to the particles. For example, the negator m5 ‘not’ normally does not modify a predicative adjective, while the particle m0 (with neutral tone) can be used in this case, as shown in §19.3.2.2 above. This suggests that the relevant particles have undergone generalization in that they can be used in more contexts. Unlike polar interrogatives with disjunctive structures which typically convey an interrogative meaning which is neutral in presupposition, polar interrogatives with some of these particles such as m0 and bo2 have developed new semantic uses such as inviting confirmation and attracting the addressee’s attention without looking for an answer. All these suggest that the four interrogative particles have undergone grammaticalization in this sentence-final position to become interrogative particles (see also Wu 1997; Yang 2003 for NEG > Q particle in VP-NEG interrogatives in Chinese). Note that, however, these four interrogative particles seem to involve different degrees of grammaticalization. The particles bǝ0 and bue0 appear to be less grammaticalized than the particles m0 and bo0: the particle bǝ0 maintains its original lexical meaning of ‘not yet’, while the particle bue0 most frequently occurs with its positive form e4 ‘can’. In addition, interrogatives with the particles bǝ0 and bue0 are typically neutral in assumption, just as their counterparts - the polar interrogatives with disjunctive structures. This phenomenon showing different degrees of grammaticalization is, however, entirely compatible with the continuum concept in grammaticalization which alludes to the gradual nature of this process (cf. Hopper & Traugott 2003, inter alia). 19.3.2.7 Interrogatives via intonation According to Ultan (1978:218-219), intonation is by far the most widespread strategy for expressing polar interrogatives. More specifically, the rising contour is the most frequently occurring type, while other strategies include terminal acceleration and higher pitch toward the end of a contour. In Hui’an, the intonation pattern for indicating unbiased polar interrogatives is precisely this terminal acceleration and a higher pitch on the last word. An example is given in (32). (32) 相機
卜
帶
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siɔng5-3ki1 boʔ7-8 tua5 camera want take ‘Do you want to take the camera?’ In (32), the last word tua5 ‘take’ immediately follows its preceding word boʔ7 ‘want’ with a shorter pause between boʔ7 and tua5 than that in a declarative sentence. In addition, tua5 has a higher pitch with a more prominent stress without any obvious change of its tone contour.2 Note that this intonation pattern is also used in echo questions (a special type of question) to indicate surprise, as in (33). (33) A: 今日 蜀 日 刣 四 隻 其 鴨 kiã1let8 tsit8-4 let8 thai2 si5-3 tsiaʔ7 e0 aʔ7 today one day kill four CL FOC duck ‘(I) killed four ducks within one day today.’ B: 刣 去 四 隻? thai2 khɯ5-3 si5-3 tsiaʔ7 kill RVC four CL ‘(You) killed four (ducks)?’ In (33), the last word tsiaʔ7 in turn B immediately follows its preceding word si4 ‘four’ with a shorter pause between si4 and tsiaʔ7 than in a declarative sentence. In addition, tsiaʔ7 is in a higher pitch than in its declarative counterpart, with a more prominent stress but no obvious change of its tone contour (which is high falling checked in this case).
19.3.3 Tag questions Tag questions refer to those expressions which syntactically follow a declarative statement or an imperative to turn them into questions (i.e. declarative statement/imperative + tag question > question), and are semantically often used to invite confirmation or ask for agreement. In Hui’an, there are mainly three types of tag question: (a) simple particle interrogatives involving the particles m0 呣 and
|| 2 This description of the features of question intonation is based on my analysis and observations as a native speaker. Of course, an acoustic study would be necessary to provide a detailed account of the associated features of prominence and stress etc.
360 | Interrogatives
bo0 無; (b) a sentence-final particle, e.g. hau0; and (c) a fused form of the tag question si4 m0 是呣 (consisting of the copular verb si4 and the particle m0) and the particle a0 啊 (i.e. siã0 < si4 m0 + a0). Examples of simple particle interrogatives involving the particle m0 are given in (34) and (35). (34) 恁 食 蜀 碗, 卜 呣 3 8 8-4 3 7 len tsiaʔ tsit uã boʔ m0 2PL eat one bowl want SFP ‘You eat one bowl (of noodles), OK?’ (35) 懷 是 滾水, 是 呣 huai2 si4 kun3-2-tsui3 si4 m0 those be boil-water be SFP ‘That is boiled water, right?’ In (34), boʔ7 m0 is used to invite agreement to the suggestion put forward by the speaker. In (35), si4 m0 is used to ask for confirmation. An example of a simple particle interrogative involving bo0 無 is given in (36), where u4 bo0 有無 is used to ask for confirmation. (36) 迄擺 我 共 汝 (扌罪) 迄本 hit7-8-pun3-2 hit7-8-pai3 gua3 ka5-4 lɯ3-2 tshǝ5-4 that-time 1SG BEN 2SG look.for that-CL 有 無 u4 bo0 have SFP ‘I looked for that book for you last time, right?’
冊, tsheʔ7 book
The following are examples of tag questions encoded by the sentence-final particle hau0 and the fused form siã0. (37) 我 佫 煮 口 gua3 koʔ7-8 tsɯ3 hau0 1SG again cook SFP ‘I cook again, OK?’
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(38) 無 椅 口 bo2-4 i3 siã0 not.have chair SFP ‘There are no chairs, right?’ In (37), by using the sentence-final particle hau0, the speaker asks for agreement from the addressee about her suggestion. In (38), the sentence-final particle siã0 is used to ask for confirmation of an assumption. In origin, the particle siã0 is probably a fused form of si4 m0 a0 是呣啊, which is formed by the tag question si4 m0 as in (35) and the sentence-final particle a0. The fusion process can be represented as si4 m0 + a0 -> siã0 (see §2.5).
19.4 Constituent interrogatives Constituent interrogatives can also be called question-word interrogatives, WHinterrogatives, special interrogatives, information questions or content interrogatives (cf. Siemund 2001:1011; Wu 2008:3, among others). They differ from polar Yes-No questions in that they are used to obtain new information rather than a simple affirmation or negation of a proposition. In this section, we focus on the question words which are used in constituent interrogatives. Like other Chinese varieties, the questions words in Hui’an are in-situ, simply taking the place of the linguistic form being questioned, without any syntactic re-arrangement. This is different from many other languages such as English where the question words (or interrogative phrases) occur obligatorily in clause-initial position (cf. Dryer 2011). The paradigm for questions words in Hui’an is shown in Table 19-1. Tab. 19-1: The question words in the Hui’an dialect
English
The Hui’an dialect
Mandarin Chinese
‘what’
siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 甚物 siã2 啥
shénme 什麼
‘who’
siã2laŋ2 啥儂 siaŋ2
shuí 誰
‘when’
ti4si2(or tɯ4si2)底時 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 si2-4tsam4 甚物時站
shénme shíhou 什麼時候
‘which’
to3 底
nǎ 哪
‘where’
to3 底
nǎr 哪兒
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English
The Hui’an dialect 3-2
Mandarin Chinese
7
to taʔ 底搭 ‘how many/much’
kui3 幾 (small quantities) lua4tsue5 偌儕 lua4 偌
jĭ 幾 (small quantities) duōshao 多少 duō 多
‘how’
tsiũ5(-3ai3 )障(仔) kŋ5(-3le3)
zěnme 怎麼
‘why’
lã5 哪 ui5-4siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 為甚物
wèishénme 為什麼
19.4.1 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 and siã2 ‘what’ The question words siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 甚物 and siã2 啥 are both used for ‘what’ questions. Siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 is mainly used alone as a predicate, as in (39), or to modify a noun, as in (40). (39) 撮 甚物 tsuai2 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 these what ‘What are these?’
啊 a0 SFP
(40) 甚物 問題 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 bun5-4tue2 what question ‘what question?’ In (39), the plural demonstrative tsuai2 ‘these’ and the question word siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 ‘what’ serve as the subject and the predicate, respectively. In other words, example (39) takes the form of ‘Subject + Q-word + SFP’, unlike ‘what’ questions in English such as What are these, in which the question word is moved into clause-initial position. In (40), the question word siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 functions as an attributive modifier of the noun bun5-4tue2 ‘question’. The following example suggests that siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 can also function as a direct object of a verb.
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(41) 汝 口 卜 洗 甚物 lɯ3 tse5 boʔ7-8 sue3-2 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 2SG now want wash what ‘What do you want to wash now?’
啊 a0 SFP
In (41), the question word siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 is used as an object of the verb sue3 ‘wash’. Note that the question word in this example is also in-situ, rather than occurring in clause-initial position. Unlike siǝm3-2bĩʔ7, the question word siã2 is mainly used in object position. In other words, it does not pose any difficulties to substitute sue3-2 siã2 for sue3-2 siǝm32 bĩʔ7 ‘wash what’ in (41) above. Another example of siã2 in object position is given in (42), where siã2 serves as an object of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’. (42) 伊 說 啥 sǝʔ7-8 siã2 i1 3SG say what ‘What did he say?’ The question word siã2 can also be used alone as a predicate, like siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 in (39) above. An example of siã2 is given in (43), where the demonstrative tsat8 ‘this’ and the question word siã2 function as the subject and the predicate, respectively. (43) 口 啥 啊 8 2 a0 tsat siã this what SFP ‘What is this?’ The question words siã2 and siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 can only refer to things (inanimates or non-human animates), but not to persons, when they are used alone. However, they can be used to refer to a person, when co-occurring with the noun laŋ2 儂 ‘person’: siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 laŋ2, literally ‘what person’. Two examples are given in (44) and (45). (44) 迄孤 甚物 儂 hit7-8-kɔ1 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 laŋ2 that-CL what person ‘What is that (person)?’
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(45) 迄孤 啥儂 hit7-8-kɔ1 siã2-laŋ2 that-CL what-person ‘Who is that (person)?’ Example (44) is typically used to ask for a description of someone with respect to his/her occupation and social status, whereas (45) is often used when the addressee is asked to identify someone (see the following section for more details). Two questions arise. What are the sources/etymologies of these two question words? Is there any relationship between these two question words? According to the pronunciation, the question word siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 seems to be a cognate of the question word shénme 什麼 in Mandarin Chinese. As suggested in Lǚ (1985:128130), shénme is derived from shìwù 是物 ‘what’ in earlier Chinese, while shìwù 是 物 ‘what’ is a contracted form of shì héwù 是何物, in which shì 是 is a copular verb and héwù 何物, a commonly used question word for ‘what’ since the Wei-Jin period (AD 220-420), as shown in (i). (i) shì héwù 是何物 ‘be what’ -> shìwù 是物 ‘(be) what’ -> shénme 什麼 ‘what’ Following this line of reasoning, we can hypothesize that the question word siǝm32 bĩʔ7 in Hui’an may also be traced back to shì héwù ‘be what’ in earlier Chinese. The question words for ‘what’ in some other Southern Min varieties such as Xiamen and Taiwan share similar pronunciations with those in Hui’an, e.g. sim miʔ, siã and siã miʔ in Xiamen (Zhou & Ouyang 1998:360; Zhou 2006:522), and siã and siã bĩʔ in Taiwan (Yang 1991:219). The question word siã in Hui’an (also Xiamen and Taiwan) may be the fused form of siǝm bĩʔ (or sim miʔ), as in (ii), while siã miʔ in Xiamen (or siã bĩʔ in Taiwan) may be formed by adding miʔ (or bĩʔ) after the fused form siã, as shown by (iii). (ii) siǝm bĩʔ/ sim miʔ甚物 ‘what’ -> siã 啥 ‘what’ (iii) siã + miʔ/bĩʔ -> siã miʔ/siã bĩʔ Syllable fusion seems also to be attested in the emergence of the question word ≥a/sa 啥 ‘what’ in most Mandarin and Wu varieties: Lǚ (1985:127) suggests that this question word may be a fused form of shénme 什麼.
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19.4.2 siã2laŋ2 and siaŋ2 ‘who’ As mentioned in §19.4.1, the question word siã2 啥 ‘what’ can be used in ‘who’ questions when followed by the noun laŋ2 ‘person’. Two more examples are given in (46) and (47). (46) 即領 啥儂 其 7-8 3 2 2 tsit -liã siã -laŋ e2 this-CL what-person GEN ‘Whose is this piece (of clothing)?’ (47) 送 啥儂 啊 saŋ5-3 siã2-laŋ2 a0 send what-person SFP ‘Whom (would you like to) give (it) to?’ In (46), siã2laŋ2 is followed by the genitive marker e2 其 to express ‘whose’. In (47), siã2laŋ2 functions an indirect object of the verb saŋ5 ‘send’. The question word siã2laŋ2 has undergone syllable fusion and the fused form is siaŋ2, as in (48), where siaŋ2 functions as the subject of the verb phrase boʔ7-8 tshiŋ5 卜穿 ‘want to wear (it)’. (48) (啥儂) 卜 穿 2 7-8 boʔ tshiŋ5 siaŋ who want wear ‘Who wants to wear (it)?’ The fusion process can be represented as siã2 + laŋ2 -> siaŋ2. Both siã2laŋ2 and siaŋ2 are commonly used in the contemporary Hui’an dialect. These two question words are also attested in some other Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Taiwan (Zhou 2006:522; Yang 1991:219). Note that there is no special form for ‘who’ questions in Hui’an, unlike Mandarin Chinese in which shuí 誰 serves as a specific form for this function and is not associated with shénme ‘what’. However, the question word for ‘who’ consisting of WHAT and PERSON such as siã2laŋ2 in Hui’an is not uncommon: it is also attested in Wu varieties such as the Suzhou 蘇州 variety and a small number of Gan varieties such as Duchang 都昌 and Yanshan 鉛山 (Wang & Chappell 2012).
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19.4.3 ti4si2/tɯ4si2 and siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 si2-4tsam4 ‘when’ The question words ti4si2(or tɯ4si2)底時 and siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 si2-4tsam4 甚物時站 are both used for ‘when’, of which, siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 si2-4tsam4 is formed by ‘what’ and ‘time’. Examples are given in (49) and (50). (49) 𪜶 底時 來 1 4 2 4 2 en ti si /tɯ si lai2 3PL when come ‘When did they come?’ (50) 甚物 時站 著 去 siǝm3-2-bĩʔ7-8 si2-4-tsam4 tioʔ8-4 khɯ5 what time have.to go ‘When (do you) have to go?’ The question word 底時 ‘when’ is pronounced only as ti4si2 in some other Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou and Xiamen (Zhou 2006:6). However, both ti4si2 and tɯ4si2 are attested in Hui’an. The reconstructed form for DI 底 has been regarded as the etymology of ti4/tɯ4 in previous works such as Li (1999:282), where he mentions that DI 底 functioning as ‘what’ is common during the period between the Southern and Northern Dynasties (A.D. 420-589) and the Tang and Song Dynasties (A.D. 618-1279). However, Yang (2002) argues that ti4si2(or tɯ4si2) in Southern Min is derived from 著時 in earlier Chinese in which 著 is originally a verb/preposition meaning ‘(be) at’. In Hui’an, ti4si2(or tɯ4si2) is much more widely used than siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 si2-4tsam4. In addition, siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 si2-4tsam4 is mainly attested via elicitation, and is thus probably modeled on shénme shíhou 什麼時候 ‘when’ in Mandarin Chinese.
19.4.4 to3 ‘which’ In Hui’an, the complex [to3 底 + numeral + classifier] is used for ‘which’ questions, asking for specific one(s) from a certain number of options, as in (51) and (52). (51) 底 蜀 間 學堂 to3-2 tsit8-4 kuin1 oʔ8-4tŋ2 which one CL school ‘Which school?’
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(52) 汝 卜挃 底 蜀 領 lɯ3 boʔ7-8tiʔ8-4 to3-2 tsit8-4 liã3 2SG want which one CL ‘Which piece (of clothing) do you want?’ In (51), to3 is followed by the numeral tsit8 ‘one’ and then the classifier kuin1, and the complex to3-2 tsit8-4 kuin1 serves as a modifier of the noun oʔ8-4tŋ2 ‘school’. In (52), the complex to3-2 tsit8-4 liã3 ‘which piece’ functions as an object of the verb boʔ7-8tiʔ8 ‘want’.
19.4.5 to3 and to3-2taʔ7 ‘where’ Besides being used in ‘which’ questions, to3 底 can also be used in ‘where’ questions, as in (53), where the question word to3 alone functions as a predicate. (53) 汝 郵箱 底 to3 lɯ3 iu2-4-siũ1 2SG email-box where ‘Where is your email box?’ Another common question word for ‘where’ in Hui’an is to3-2taʔ7 底搭, as in (54), where to3-2taʔ7 functions as an object of the verb ti4 伫 ‘be at’. (54) 恁 厝裡 伫 ti4 len3 tshu5-3-lai4 2PL house-inside be.at ‘Where is your home?’
底搭 to3-2-taʔ7 where-LOC
The numeral tsit8 蜀 ‘one’ can be inserted between to3 and taʔ7 to ask for a specific place, as in (55). (55) 底蜀搭 咧 賣 to3-2-tsit8-4-taʔ7 leʔ7-8 bue4 which-one-LOC HAB sell ‘Where can (I) get (this)?’ It is clear that question words for ‘which’ and ‘where’ in Hui’an are similar in form, like some other Southern Min varieties such as Quanzhou and Xiamen (cf. Li
368 | Interrogatives
1999:276-279; Zhou 2006:131, among others). In fact, this phenomenon is not uncommon in Chinese (cf. Li & Chang 1999). In addition, previous studies such as Li (1999:282) and Yang (2002:161) have suggested that the question word to for ‘which’ and ‘where’ in Southern Min is derived from the question word DI 底 ‘what’ in earlier Chinese, like the question word ti4/tɯ4 底 for ‘what’ mentioned in §19.4.3.
19.4.6 kui3, lua4tsue5 and lua4 ‘how many/much’ The question words kui3 幾 and lua4tsue5 偌儕 are both used to ask for a quantity, as shown by (56) - (58). (56) 汝 卜 買 幾 個 啊 lɯ3 boʔ7-8 bue3 kui3-2 e2 a0 2SG want buy how.many CL SFP ‘How many do you want to buy?’ (57) 汝 卜 買 偌儕 啊 3 7-8 3 4 5 lɯ boʔ bue lua tsue a0 2SG want buy how.many SFP ‘How many do you want to buy?’ (58) 偌儕 錢 lua4tsue5-4 tsin2 how.much money ‘How much (is it)?’ The question word kui3 is typically used when the quantity is supposed to be a small one. For example, (56) is usually used when the speaker supposes that the addressee will buy something in a small amount. When larger quantities are involved, the question word lua4tsue5 is used, as illustrated by (57). The question word kui3 normally occurs with a classifier such as e2 in (56), while lua4tsue5 can be immediately followed by a noun such as tsin2 ‘money’ in (58). Similar distinctions are also attested in other Chinese varieties such as Mandarin Chinese, as shown in Table 19-1 above. Unlike kui3 and lua4tsue5, the question word lua4 偌 is usually followed by an adjective to ask for a degree, as in (59), where lua4 precedes the adjective ku3 久 ‘long’ to ask about duration.
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(59) 恁 去 偌 久 len3 khɯ5 lua4 ku3 2PL go how.much long ‘How long have you been away?’
19.4.7 tsiũ5 and kŋ5 ‘how’ Both tsiũ5 障 and kŋ5 are used for manner interrogatives, as illustrated by (60), where the question words tsiũ5 and kŋ5 precede the verb phaʔ7 拍 ‘hit’ to ask how the two persons fought each other. (60) 兩 個 障/口 拍 lŋ4 e2 tsiũ5-3/kŋ5-3 phaʔ7 two CL how/how hit ‘How did the two (persons) fight (with each other)?’ The following two examples show that tsiũ5-3ai3 障仔 and kŋ5-3le3 are used for expressing ‘how is…?’, ‘what about…’, or ‘why’. (61) 汝 收入 障仔/口口 lɯ3 siu1liǝp8 tsiũ5-3ai3/ kŋ5-3le3 2SG salary how/how ‘How is your salary?’ (62) 汝 障仔/口口 卜 創 口 lɯ3 tsiũ5-3ai3/kŋ5-3le3 boʔ7-8 tshɔŋ5-3 tse2 2SG why/why want do this ‘Why did you want to do this?’ In (61), the question words tsiũ5-3ai3 and kŋ5-3le3 function as a predicate, asking how the addressee’s salary is. In (62), tsiũ5-3ai3 and kŋ5-3le3 are placed between the subject lɯ3 ‘you’ and the predicate boʔ7-8 tshɔŋ5-3 tse2 ‘want to do this’ to ask the reason why the addressee wants to do something. According to Zhou (2006:387, 548, 1095), the question words for manner interrogatives and expressing ‘how is…’ and ‘why’ in Quanzhou can be an5-3tsuã3 安怎, tsai5iũ5 怎樣, tsiũ5 障 and tsiũ5-3a3 障仔, of which tsiũ5 is a contracted form of tsai5iũ5. The ai3 following tsiũ5 in Hui’an is probably the counterpart of the dimunitive suffix a3 in Quanzhou. As for the question word kŋ5-3le3, we have been unable
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to find a similar form in other Southern Min varieties. Thus, at this stage, its origin remains unclear.
19.4.8 lã5 and ui5-4siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 ‘why’ Besides tsiũ5-3ai3 and kŋ5-3le3, there are another two question words indicating ‘why’ questions, i.e. lã5 哪 and ui5-4siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 為甚物 as in (63) and (64), respectively. (63) 汝 哪 講 口 儕 話 3 5-3 3 7-8 5-4 lɯ lã kaŋ tsuaʔ tsue ue5 2SG why say this many word ‘Why do you talk so much?’ (64) 為甚物 無 儂 讓座 ui5-4-siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 bo2-4 laŋ2-4 liũ5-4-tsǝ4 for-what not.have person offer-seat ‘Why did no one offer his/her seat?’ Lǚ (1985:137) points out that the question word for ‘why’ formed by ‘for’ and ‘what’ can be found in documents from the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), which corresponds to the period of Late Medieval Chinese, and is still used in contemporary Chinese, e.g. wèishénme 為什麼 in Mandarin Chinese. The counterpart of wèi shénme in Mandarin Chinese in Hui’an is ui5-4siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 which is probably recently borrowed from Mandarin Chinese, since it is only used by the younger generation and not reported in the literature of Southern Min.
19.5 Summary This chapter has examined three types of interrogative in Hui’an: alternative, polar and constituent interrogatives. The disjuncts of alternative interrogatives are typically connected by the alternative marker aʔ8-4si4 抑是 or aʔ8 抑. In other words, the alternative interrogative typically takes the form of [A + aʔ8-4si4/aʔ8 + B]. The first adjunct may be further preceded by the copular verb si4 是, i.e. forming [si4 + A + aʔ8-4si4/aʔ8 + B]. Polar interrogatives can be marked by a series of strategies such as interrogative particles, interrogative intonation, disjunctive structures and the addition
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of tags. Polar interrogatives with disjunctive structures typically consist of an affirmative sentence followed by its negative counterpart, with or without the alternative marker aʔ8 抑 ‘or’, more specifically, taking the form of VP-or-NEG-VP, VP-NEG-VP and VP-or-NEG. All these three forms semantically convey an interrogative meaning which is neutral in assumption, that is, expectations regarding the answer to the interrogative on the part of the addressee are neither overtly coded nor implied. The ‘VP-NEG’ pattern (without an alternative marker), which is widely used in Chinese, especially Southern Chinese, is not attested in Hui’an, since negative markers in the ‘VP-NEG’ pattern of the Hui’an dialect (m5 呣, bǝ5 未, bo2 無 and bue4𣍐) have developed into interrogative particles undergoing tonal reduction (m0 呣, bǝ0 未, bo0 無 and bue0𣍐), though they show different degrees of grammaticalization. Another important interrogative particle is a0 啊. There are three main types of tag question: (a) simple particle interrogatives involving the particles m0 呣 and bo0 無; (b) a sentence-final particle, e.g. hau0; and (c) a fused form of the tag question si4 m0 是呣 (consisting of the copular verb si4 and the particle m0) and the particle a0 啊 (i.e. siã0 < si4 m0 + a0). We also examined the paradigm of the in-situ question words in Hui’an that are used to form constituent interrogatives.
20 Topic-comment constructions 20.1 Introduction Topic-comment constructions play an important role in the grammar of some Chinese varieties such as Mandarin Chinese, Wu and Min (see Li & Thompson 1976, 1981; Xu & Liu 2007; Liu 2001, inter alia). On the discourse level, the topic of a sentence basically tells us what the rest of the sentence (called the comment) is about, or it can be seen as providing the frame of reference for the rest of the sentence (see Barry 1975; Li & Thompson 1981; Lambrecht 1994, inter alia). In other words, unlike the notion of subject which typically has a direct semantic relationship (‘doing’ or ‘being’ relationship) with the verb, the topic need not be an argument of the main verb in a sentence (see also Chao 1968; Li & Thompson 1976, 1981). As suggested by previous studies such as Li & Thompson (1981), due to its function in the sentence, the topic normally refers to something that is identifiable for both the speaker and the addressee, being typically either definite or generic. Unlike Mandarin Chinese in which the topic, if overt, always occurs in sentence-initial position, the topic, especially the patient topic, in Wu and Min branches of Chinese often occurs between the subject and the main verb in the comment (Liu 2001). To distinguish the topic in these two different positions, the terms ‘main topic’ and ‘subtopic’ have been created by Xu & Liu (2007). More specifically, the main topic refers to the topic that occurs before the subject, while the subtopic is the topic occurring between the subject and the main verb in the comment. What needs to be noted is that in daily Hui’an conversation, the subject is often omitted and more than one topic may occur before the main verb in the comment, as will be shown in the following examples. As with Mandarin Chinese, the topic in Hui’an can be separated from the comment by a pause, though the use of a pause is optional. In the remainder of this chapter, topic-comment constructions in Hui’an will be examined in terms of the following aspects: (a) forms of topics (§20.2); (b) semantic relations between topic and comment (§20.3); (c) positions of topics (§20.4); (d) patient topicalization (§20.5); (e) topic markers (§20.6); and (f) contrastive function of topic (§20.7). Note that we focus on the topic that does not simultaneously function as a subject.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-020
Forms of topics | 373
20.2 Forms of topics Topics can be a personal pronoun, as in (1) and (2). (1)
NPPRO TOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 㑑 路頭 遠 lan3 lɔ5-4thau2 hŋ4 1PL distance far ‘We are far away (from there).’ (lit. As for us, the distance is far.)
(2) NPPRO TOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 伊 骹 蠻 大雙 i1 kha1 ban2-4 tua5-4-saŋ1 3SG foot rather big-pair ‘His feet are rather big.’ (lit. As for him, the feet are rather big.) In (1), the noun lɔ5-4thau2 ‘distance’, rather than the inclusive first person plural pronoun lan3, functions as a subject, since the predicative adjective hŋ4 ‘far’ describes the noun lɔ5-4thau2 ‘distance’, rather than the pronoun lan3 ‘we’. In this case, the pronoun lan3 functions as the topic, indicating the frame of reference for the comment lɔ5-4thau2 hŋ4 ‘the distance is far’. A pause can be used after the pronoun lan3, though it is not necessary. The pronoun lan3 and the noun lɔ5-4thau2 cannot form a genitive noun phrase meaning ‘our distance’. Similarly, the third person singular pronoun i1 in (2) functions as a topic, coding what the comment kha1 ban2-4 tua5-4saŋ1 ‘the feet are rather big’ is about, while the noun kha1 ‘foot’ in the comment serves as a subject, described by the adjectival phrase ban2-4 tua54 saŋ1 ‘rather big’. The topic i1 can be optionally followed by a pause. In addition, 1 i kha1 cannot be regarded as a genitive noun phrase, since the genitive marker e2 is usually required when the possessee is encoded by a body part (see §8.2.4). Sentences like these two examples are traditionally called ‘double subject sentences’ in the literature of Chinese linguistics, and later regarded as prototypical topic-comment constructions (see Li & Thompson 1976, 1981). The demonstratives and the [demonstrative + classifier] complexes often function as a topic, as in (3) and (4). (3) NPDEM TOPIC VP 口 摕 去 送 儂 8 8 5-3 5 tsat thueʔ khɯ saŋ laŋ4 this take go send other ‘As for this, give (it) to someone as a gift.’
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(4) NPDEM+CL TOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 即領 (啥儂) 卜 穿 啊 tsit7-8-liã3 siaŋ2-4 boʔ7-8 tshiŋ5 a0 this-CL who want wear SFP ‘This piece (of clothing), who wants to wear it?’ In (3), the demonstrative tsat8 ‘this’, being semantically a patient of the verb thueʔ8 ‘take’, syntactically functions as a topic. Similarly, the [demonstrative + classifier] complex tsit7-8liã3 ‘this piece’ in (4) syntactically functions as a topic, and is semantically a patient of the main verb tshiŋ5 ‘wear’ in the comment siaŋ24 boʔ7-8 tshiŋ5 a0 ‘who wants to wear’. Topics are also often encoded by a noun (phrase), as in (5) – (8), which all involve topicalization of a patient or direct object noun (see §20.5 below). (5) NPTOPIC VP 厝租 加 摕 蠻儕 tshu5-3-tsɔ1 ke1 thueʔ8 ban2-4tsue5 house-rent more take much ‘As for the house rent, (they) have paid much more.’ (6) NPGEN TOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 阮 其 課 伊 也 上 gun3 e2-4 khɔ5 i1 a4 siɔŋ5 1PL GEN lecture 3SG also take ‘Our classes, she also attended them.’ (7) NPRC+NP TOPIC VP 翕 懷 相 與 恁 爸仔 看 hiǝp7 huai2 siɔŋ5 khɔ5-4 len3-2 pa2-a0 khuã5 take those picture give 2PL father-NM look ‘The pictures that (you) took, let your father look at (them).’ (8) NPDEM+CL+N TOPIC VP 迄領 衫 呣嗵 褪 (起來) hit7-8-liã3-2 sã1 m5-4-thaŋ1 thŋ5 khai0 that-CL clothes not-can take.off RVC ‘That piece of clothing, don’t take off (if).’
Forms of topics | 375
In (5), the bare noun tshu5-3tsɔ1 ‘house rent’ functions as a topic. In (6), the topic is encoded by the possessive construction gun3 e2-4 khɔ5 ‘our classes’. In (7), the topic hiǝp7 huai2siɔŋ5 ‘those pictures that (you) took’ is a noun phrase consisting of the relative clause hiǝp7 ‘(you) took’ and the head noun huai2 siɔŋ5 ‘those pictures’. In (8), the noun phrase hit7-8liã3-2sã1 ‘that piece of clothing’, functioning as a topic, involves a [demonstrative + classifier] complex (hit7-8liã3) and a head noun (sã1 ‘clothes’). Numerals and ‘numeral + classifier + noun’ constructions can sometimes function on their own as a topic, as in (9) and (10). (9) NPSUBJECT VSAY [NPTOPIC ADV NPNUM TOPIC VP] 𪜶 說 東南 懷 en1 sǝʔ7-8 taŋ1lam2 huai2 3PL say southeast those (呣攏) 蜀半 呣 佫 租 儂 3-2 8-4 5 5-4 7-8 1 bɔŋ tsit puã m koʔ tsɔ laŋ4 perhaps half not again rent other ‘They said perhaps half (of the houses) in the southeast region are no longer for rent.’ (lit. They say those (houses) in the southeast region perhaps half no longer rent out people) (10) NPNUM+CL+N TOPIC VP 兩 間 房 鋪 者 就 好看 4 1 2 1 0 5-4 lŋ kuin paŋ phɔ tse tsiu ho3-2-khuã5 two CL room lay DELIM then good-look ‘Those two rooms will look good after laying (wooden floors).’ (lit. two rooms lay (wooden floors) DELIM then good-looking) In (9), there are two instances of topic in the complement clause of the utterance verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’: (a) the topic taŋ1lam2 huai2 ‘those (houses) in the southeast region’ designates what the comment bɔŋ3-2 tsit8-4puã5 m5-4 koʔ7-8 tsɔ1 laŋ4 ‘perhaps half are no longer for rent’ is about; and (b) the topic tsit8-4puã5 ‘half’ (encoded by a numeral) indicates what the comment m5-4 koʔ7-8 tsɔ1laŋ4 ‘no longer for rent’ is about. Note that these two topics are in a part-whole relationship with each other: the first topic (taŋ1lam2 huai2) is the whole of which the second topic (tsit8-4puã5) is a part. In (10), the noun phrase lŋ4 kuin1 paŋ2 ‘two rooms’, with the structure of ‘numeral + classifier + noun’, functions as a topic, indicating what the comment phɔ1tse0 tsiu5-4 ho3-2khuã5 ‘look good after laying (wooden floors)’ is about.
376 | Topic-comment constructions
The topic can also be encoded by a nominalization construction, as in (11) and (12), both of which involve topicalization of a patient. (11) NPNOMINALIZATION TOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 阮 厝裡 剩 其 gun3 tshu5-3-lai4 tshun4 e0 1PL house-inside remain NMLZ 伊 從來 呣 食 i1 tsiɔŋ2-4lai2 m5-4 tsiaʔ8 3SG always not eat ‘As for the leftovers at home, he never eats (them).’ (12) NPNOMINALIZATION TOPIC VP 否其 去 挽 捒 phai3-e0 khɯ5-3 ban3-2 sak7 bad-NMLZ go pull RVC ‘As for the bad (tooth), have it extracted.’ In (11), the nominalization construction gun3 tshu5-3lai4 tshun4 e0 ‘the leftovers at home’ functions as a topic. This sentence cannot be directly turned into a SVO construction unless the first person pronoun gun3 is deleted, that is, forming i1 tsiɔŋ2-4lai2 m5-4 tsiaʔ8-4 tshu5-3-lai4 tshun4e0 ‘He never eats the leftovers at home’. Though this SVO construction is acceptable, it is less natural than the topic-comment construction. The topic in (12) is the nominalization construction phai3 e0 ‘the bad (tooth)’. This sentence cannot be turned into a SVO construction. Time and location words also often function as a topic, as in (13) and (14). (13) NPTEMPORAL TOPIC VP 下日 會 恰 無 儂 租 e4let8 e4 khaʔ7-8 bo2-4 laŋ2-4 tsɔ1 future will comparatively not.have person rent ‘In the future, there will be fewer people renting (the house).’ (14) NPLOCATIVE TOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 北京 梨仔 恰 俗 7-8 1 2-4 3 7-8 pak kiã lai -a khaʔ siɔk8 PN pear-NM comparatively cheap ‘In Beijing, pears are cheaper.’
Forms of topics | 377
In (13), the time word e4let8 ‘future’ functions as a topic, providing a time frame for the event encoded by the comment e4 khaʔ7-8 bo2-4 laŋ2-4 tsɔ1 ‘there will be fewer people renting (the house)’. In (14), the location word pak7-8kiã1 ‘Beijing’ functions as a topic, providing a location frame for the comment lai2-4a3 khaʔ7-8 siɔk8 ‘pears are cheaper’, in which the noun lai2-4a3 ‘pear’ serves as a subject, described by the predicative adjectival phrase khaʔ7-8 siɔk8. The following three examples illustrate that a topic can also be a verb or clause. (15) VPTOPIC VP 調 𣍐 調 呀 2 4 2 tiau bue tiau ia0 adjust can.not adjust SFP ‘Concerning adjustment, (it) cannot be adjusted.’ (16) VPTOPIC VP 卜 食 煮 兩 三 碗 boʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8 tsɯ3 lŋ4 sã1 uã3 want eat cook two three bowl ‘If (you) want to eat (it), (I’ll) cook two or three bowls of (it).’ (17) STOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 阿明 28 歲 伊 會記得 1 2 8-4 7-8 5 1 a biŋ liǝp pueʔ hǝ i e4ki5let0 PN twenty.eight year 3SG remember ‘As for the fact that Ah-Ming is 28 years old, she remembers (it).’ In (15), the verb tiau2 ‘adjust’ functions as a topic. Note that tiau2 is repeated in the comment, which shows that this is an example of identical topic construction (see §20.3.3 for details). In (16), the conditional clause encoded by the verb phrase boʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8 ‘want to eat’ functions as a topic, providing a conditional frame for the event encoded by the comment tsL3 lŋ4 sã1 uã3 ‘cook two or three bowls’. In (17), the clause a1biŋ2 liǝp8-4pueʔ7-8 hǝ5 ‘Ah-Ming is 28 years old’ functions as a topic, indicating what the comment i1 e4ki5let0 ‘she remembers’ is about, in which the third person singular pronoun i1 is a subject. Adjectives can sometimes also function as a topic, as in (18).
378 | Topic-comment constructions
(18) VPADJ TOPIC VP 好 也 好 無 儕 ho3 a4 ho3 bo2-4 tsue5 good also good not.have much ‘Even though (it) is good, (it) is not much better either.’ In (18), the adjective ho3 ‘good’ functions as a topic, providing the frame of reference for the comment a4 ho3 bo2-4 tsue5 ‘it is not much better either’. This is also an example of the identical topic construction. As shown by the examples so far, the topic in Hui’an can be encoded by different categories of words, phrases and clauses. Among these, the topics encoded by noun phrases, verb phrases and clauses are equally common in Mandarin Chinese and other Chinese varieties such as the Shanghai variety of Wu (cf. Xu & Liu 2007). However, topics encoded by adjectives and numerals have been much less described in the relevant literature.
20.3 Semantic relations between topic and comment According to Xu & Liu (2007:104), the topics can be classified into four types in terms of the semantic relations between topic and comment, i.e. coreferential (pseudo-)argument topic, frame-setting topic, identical topic, and clause topic. Liu (2003b[2001]) identifies another type: split-argument topic.
20.3.1 Coreferential (pseudo-)argument topic The coreferential argument topic is co-referential with an overt argument or a gap in the comment (Xu & Liu 2007:104), as in (19) below, where the topic Wú Xiānsheng 吳先生 ‘Mr. Wu’ is coreferential with the third person singular pronoun tā 他 , which is the subject of the verb rènshi 認識 ‘know’ in the comment tā rènshi wǒ ‘he knows me’. (19) NPTOPIC i NPSUBJECT i VP 吳先生, 他 認識 Wú Xiānsheng tā rènshi Mr. Wu 3SG know ‘Mr. Wu, he knows me.’
我 (Mandarin Chinese) wǒ 1SG
Semantic relations between topic and comment | 379
In Hui’an, this type of topic is often coreferential with the ellipsed patient of the verb in the comment, as illustrated by examples (11) and (12) above. The following examples show that the topic can also be coreferential with the agent, beneficiary/maleficiary, goal or recipient of the verb in the comment. (20) NPTOPIC i NPSUBJECT(AGENT) i VP 男其 伊 無 抹 2 0 1 2-4 lam -e i bo buaʔ7 male-NMLZ 3SG not.have smear ‘As for men, they don’t use (skin products).’ (21) NPPRO TOPIC i NPSUBJECT [PREPOSITION NPPRO i VP] 汝 啥儂 共 汝 挽 其 lɯ3 siã2-laŋ2 ka5-4 lɯ3-2 ban3 e0 2SG what-person MAL 2SG pluck NMLZ ‘Who plucks your (eyebrows) on you?’ (lit. you who on you pluck) (22) NPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VP [ ]t 深圳 無 儂 卜 1 5 2-4 2-4 tshiǝm tsun bo laŋ boʔ7-8 PN not.have person want ‘Shenzhen, no one wants to go there.’
去 khɯ5 go
(23) NPTOPIC [V [ ]t DO ] 蜀 個 分 五 千 tsit8-4 e2 pun1 gɔ4 tshiŋ1 one CL distribute five thousand ‘Five thousand was given to each (person).’(lit. one distribute five thousand) In (20), the topic lam2e0 ‘men’ is coreferential with the agent i1 ‘he’ of the verb phrase bo2-4 buaʔ7 ‘don’t use’ in the comment. In (21), the first occurrence of lL3 ‘you’ functions as a topic, being coreferential with the second occurrence of lL3, the maleficiary of the verb ban3 ‘pluck’ in the comment. In (22), the topic tshi?m1tsun5 ‘Shenzhen’ is coreferential with the goal of the motion verb khL5 ‘go’ in the comment (syntactically, it is the gap of the locative object for the verb khL5). In (23), the topic tsit8-4 e2 ‘one’ is coreferential with the recipient of the ditransitive verb pun1 ‘distribute’ in the comment (syntactically, the indirect object gap of the verb pun1).
380 | Topic-comment constructions
In the examples above, the topic is coreferential with an argument in the comment composed of a simple clause. It may be overt or covert in the comment clause as we have explained. As shown by the following example, the topic can also be coreferential with an ellipsed argument of the verb in an embedded clause of the comment. (24) NPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VFEEL [ []t VP] 迄種 戶型 我 感覺 也 𣍐 否 hit7-8-tsiɔŋ3-2 hɔ4-hiŋ2 gua3 kam3-2kak7-8 a4 bue4 phai3 that-kind house-style 1SG feel also cannot bad ‘That kind of house style, I feel it’s not so bad.’ In (24), the topic hit7-8tsiNŋ3-2 hN4hiŋ2 迄種戶型 ‘that kind of house style’ in the sentence-initial position is coreferential with the subject gap of the embedded clause a4 bue4 phai3 也𣍐否 ‘also not bad’. However, this is not common, partly because sentences with an embedded clause are themselves not common in daily conversation. In addition, when it is coreferential with a non-subject argument in an embedded clause such as in example (9) above and example (25) below, the topic is often placed within the embedded clause and just after the main clause verb rather than in the sentence-initial position. (25) NPSUBJECT VSAY [NPTEMPORAL TOPIC NPTOPIC VP] 我 說 明年 存摺 著 交 來 咯 3 7-8 2-4 2 2-4 7 8-4 1 0 gua sǝʔ buã -lin tsun tsiʔ tioʔ kau lai lɔ0 1SG say next-year bankbook should hand.in come SFP ‘I said, next year, the bankbook should be handed in.’ In (25), there are two instances of different topics in the complement clause of the utterance verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’: (a) the topic buã2-4lin2 ‘next year’, providing the time frame for the comment tsun2-4tsiʔ7 tioʔ8-4 kau1 lai0 lɔ0 ‘the handbook should be handed in’; and (b) the topic tsun2-4tsiʔ7 ‘bankbook’, being coreferential with the patient gap of the comment tioʔ8-4 kau1 lai0 ‘should hand in’. The second topic tsun2-4tsiʔ7 appears right before the verb phrase tioʔ8-4 kau1 lai0 (and is still part of the embedded clause), rather than in the sentence-initial position (i.e. before the main clause beginning with gua3 ‘I’). In subject-prominent languages such as English, the topic is normally in sentence-initial position. This could also be one of the reasons why earlier studies tend to restrict the position of topic to the sentence-initial one, also because given information generally precedes new in terms of information structure. In some
Semantic relations between topic and comment | 381
topic-prominent languages, however, such as those belonging to the Min and Wu branches of Chinese, the topic can also appear in positions other than sentenceinitial ones. In Min and Wu, the topic in sentence-initial position tends to be the same as that of the surrounding discourse context and is not syntacticized, whereas the topic in other positions (e.g. the subtopic position between the subject and the main verb in the comment) may have undergone syntacticization, or has a higher degree of syntacticization. This is consistent with what is mentioned in Xu & Liu (2007) and, similarly, that the use of a subtopic can be regarded as another manifestation of topic prominence. Cross-linguistically, the coreferential argument topic is very common, while the coreferential pseudo-argument topic seems to be a characteristic of Chinese (Xu & Liu 2007:104). The pseudo-argument is used by Xu & Liu (2007:104, 106) to refer to those constituents that are not typical arguments but share some syntactic characteristics of arguments, such as the copular complement of a copular verb and the verb phrase appearing after a modal verb in a non-topic-comment sentence. An example of coreferential pseudo-argument topic from Hui’an is given in (26). (26) VP TOPIC VPMODAL 啉 燒酒 會 liǝm1 sio1tsiu3 e4 drink alcohol can ‘As for drinking mulled wine, he can.’ In (26), the topic is encoded by the verb phrase li?m1 sio1tsiu3 ‘drink alcohol’, and the modal verb e4 ‘can’ alone constitutes the comment. In Hui’an, the coreferential (pseudo-)argument topic normally takes the form of a gap in the comment, as illustrated by examples (22) - (24) above. However, a resumptive form is used instead in some cases. For example, when the topic functions as an agent of the comment, a resumptive form can occur in the comment, as in (20), where the third person singular pronoun i1 serves as a resumptive form. In addition, when the topic is coreferential with the object of an adposition in the comment, the position after the adposition usually involves a resumptive form, as illustrated by (21), where the second person singular pronoun lɯ3 introduced by the malefactive marker ka5 in the comment functions as a resumptive form, being coreferential with the the topic lɯ3 in the sentence-initial position. Generally speaking, in terms of the encoding of coreferential (pseudo-)argument topics in the comment, the Hui’an dialect is more like Mandarin Chinese than the
382 | Topic-comment constructions
Shanghai variety of Wu. According to Xu & Liu (2007:111-112), compared to Mandarin Chinese, the coreferential (pseudo-)argument topics in Shanghai tend to use a resumptive form in the comment. In addition, quite a few of examples given in Xu & Liu (2007) involve a patient topic. In Hui’an, however, the coreferential patient topic normally takes the form of a gap in the comment, except when the patient marker ka5 is involved, as in (27) (see also §16.4.2 above on this construction). (27) NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC i [PREPOSITION NPPRO i VP] 汝 桌 共 伊 擦擦 者 lɯ3 toʔ7 ka5-4 i1 tshet7-8~tshet7 tse0 2SG table OM 3SG wipe~wipe DELIM ‘You, the table, clean it.’ In (27), the third person singular pronun i1 serves as a resumptive form, being coreferential with the patient subtopic toʔ7 ‘table’. Note that the complex ka5-4 i1 is often omitted in daily conversation, that is, the construction lɯ3 toʔ7 tshet7-8tshet7 tse0 (without the complex ka5-4 i1) is normally used.
20.3.2 Frame-setting topic The frame-setting topic provides the domain or framework within which the comment holds and falls into four subtypes: time/location frame-setting topic, possession frame-setting topic, superordinate frame-setting topic and background frame-setting topic (Xu & Liu 2007:113-121). Among these, the superordinate frame-setting topic constitutes a superordinate concept of an argument in the comment, as in (28), an example from Mandarin Chinese. (28) NPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 動物, 老虎 最 兇猛 (Mandarin Chinese) dòngwù lǎohǔ zuì xiōngměng animal tiger most fierce ‘As for animals, the tiger is most fierce.’ As mentioned in Xu & Liu (2007:117), the superordinate frame-setting topic as in (28), is a common type of topic in Chinese such as Mandarin Chinese. However, it is not common in daily conversation for the Hui’an dialect. Thus, this section focuses on the other three types of frame-setting topic.
Semantic relations between topic and comment | 383
20.3.2.1 Time/location frame-setting topic The time/location frame-setting topic provides a time/location frame of the comment (Xu & Liu 2007:114). This type of topic, especially the topic encoded by a time word, is very common in Hui’an. Two examples have been given in (13) and (14), where the time frame-setting topic e4let8 ‘future’ and the location frame-setting topic pak7-8kiã1 ‘Beijing’ both occur in the sentence-initial position. The following is an example of non-sentence-initial position. (29) NPSUBJECT NPTEMPORAL TOPIC VP 汝 明日 合 小妹 兩 個 lɯ3 biã2-4let8 kaʔ7-8 sio3-2bǝ5 lŋ4 e2 2SG tomorrow COMT Y.sister two CL 著 去 買 衫 tioʔ8-4 khɯ5-3 bue3-2 sã1 should go buy clothes ‘You should go shopping tomorrow with your young sister.’ In (29), the time word biã2-4let8 ‘tomorrow’ functions as a time frame-setting topic, establishing the time frame of the comment. In addition, the topic biã2-4let8 appears after the subject lɯ3 ‘you’, rather than in the sentence-initial position. Note that, time and location words, no matter whether they appear in sentence-initial or sentence-medial position, tend to be used alone, rather than follow an adposition. Two more examples of the time/location frame-setting topic in sentence-medial position (subtopic position) are given in (30) and (31). (30) NPSUBJECT NPTEMPORAL TOPIC VP 我 年兜 就 卜 徙 3 2-4 1 5-4 7-8 gua lin tau tsiu boʔ sua3 1SG end.of.year as.early.as want move ‘I would like, at the end of the year, to make a move.’ (31) NPSUBJECT ADV NPLOCATIVE TOPIC VP 汝 (呣攏) 學堂 計 無 讀冊 lɯ3 boŋ3-2 oʔ8-4tŋ2 ke5-3 bo2-4 thak8-4tsheʔ7 2SG perhaps school all not.have study ‘You, perhaps, have not been studying (at) school.’ In (30), the time word lin2-4tau1 ‘end of the year’ functions as a subtopic (appearing after the subject gua3 ‘I’). In (31), the subtopic encoded by the location word oʔ8-
384 | Topic-comment constructions
tŋ2 ‘school’ appears after the subject lɯ3 ‘you’ and the modal adverb boŋ3 ‘perhaps’.
4
20.3.2.2 Possession frame-setting topic The possession frame-setting topic semantically involves a possessive relation with an argument of the verb in the comment, as in the Mandarin Chinese example in (32), where the topic lǎowáng 老王 ‘Mr. Wang’ is semantically the possessor of the subject érzi 兒子 ‘son’ in the comment (cf. Xu & Liu 2007:115). (32) NPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 老王, 兒子 考 上 了 大學 (Mandarin Chinese) lǎowáng érzi kǎo shàng le dàxué Mr. Wang son take.exam RVC PFV university ‘As for Mr. Wang, his son has been admitted to a university.’ This type of topic is not very common in daily conversation of the Hui’an dialect. In addition, this type of topic is often followed by a body-part noun, as in (33) and (34). (33) NPTOPIC NPTOPIC VP 阮 爸 喙齒 挽 遘 澈澈 gun3-2 pa2 tshui5-3-khi3 ban3 a5-3 theʔ7-8~theʔ7 1PL father mouth-tooth pull CM finished~finished ‘My father’s teeth were all pulled out.’ (34) NPTOPIC NPTOPIC VP 汝 目眉 呣免 lɯ3 bak8-4bai2 m5-4ben3-2 2SG eyebrow no.need ‘You don’t need to pluck pluck)
去 挽 khɯ5-3 ban3 go pluck your eyebrows.’(lit. you eyebrows no need go
In (33), the noun tshui5-3khi3 ‘tooth’ is semantically a patient of of the verb ban3 ‘pull’ in the comment ban3 a5-3 theʔ7-8theʔ7 ‘be all pulled out’, while gun3-2 pa2 ‘my father’ is semantically the possessor of the patient noun tshui5-3khi3. Note that gun3-2 pa2 ‘my father’ is not the agent of the verb ban3, and thus tshui5-3khi3 ‘tooth’ and gun3-2 pa2 ‘my father’ can be regarded as two independent topics. In other words, the possession frame-setting topic gun3-2 pa2 ‘my father’ is the possessor of its following topic tshui5-3khi3. Similarly, the possession frame-setting topic lɯ3
Semantic relations between topic and comment | 385
‘you’ in (34) is the possessor of the second topic bak8-4bai2 ‘eyebrow’, which is a patient argument of the verb ban3 ‘pull’ in the comment m5-4ben3-2 khɯ5-3 ban3 ‘no need to pluck’. Two more examples of possession frame-setting topic in Hui’an are given in (35) and (36). (35) NPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 伊 本性 是 𣍐 改 其 i1 pun3-2siŋ5 si4 bue4 kue3 e0 3SG nature be cannot change SFP ‘His nature cannot be changed.’ (lit. he nature be cannot change) (36) NPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 恁 媽 身體 無 好 len3-2 bã2 sen1the3 bo2-4 ho3 2PL mother body not.have good ‘Your mother is in poor health.’ (lit. your mother body not good) In (35), the noun pun3-2siŋ5 ‘nature’ can be regarded as the subject of the copular verb si4 ‘be’, and the third person singular pronoun i1 ‘he’, being a topic, involves a possessive relation with the noun pun3-2siŋ5. Similarly, the noun sen1the3 ‘body’ in (36) is the subject of the verb phrase bo2-4 ho3 ‘not good’, while len3-2 bã2 ‘your mother’, involving a possessive relation with the noun sen1the3, functions as a topic. 20.3.2.3 Background frame-setting topic The connection between the background frame-setting topic and the comment is typically based on background information or the context in which the conversation occurs, rather than a syntactic-semantic relation such as those mentioned above (Xu & Liu 2007:119). A famous example of this type from Mandarin Chinese is reproduced in (37), where the relationship created between the topic nà chǎng huǒ 那場火 ‘that fire’ and the comment xìngkuī xiāofángduì lái de kuài 幸虧消防 隊來得快 ‘fortunately the fire brigade came quickly’ is based on common sense about the fire and the role of a fire brigade.
386 | Topic-comment constructions
(37) NPTOPIC ADV NPSUBJECT VP 那 場 火, 幸虧 消防隊 來 得 快 nà chǎng huǒ xìngkuī xiāofángduì lái de kuài that CL fire luckily fire.brigade come CM quick ‘That fire, fortunately the fire brigade came quickly.’ This type of topic is not uncommon in daily conversation of the Hui’an dialect. Examples are given in (38) – (40). (38) NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC VP 阿山 蜀 垛 雞腿 食 去 蜀 1 1 8-4 5-3 1 3 8-4 5-3 a san tsit tǝ kue -thui tsiaʔ khɯ tsit8-4 PN one CL chicken-leg eat RVC one ‘Ah-Shan, with only a chicken leg, ate a bowl of rice.’
碗 飯 3-2 uã bãi1 bowl rice
(39) NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC VP 後生家 迄碗 面 行 者 枵 咯 hau4sin1ke1 hit7-8-uã3-2 bin5 kiã2 tse0 iau1 lɔ0 young.man that-bowl noodle walk DELIM hungry SFP ‘Young man, (take) that bowl of noodles, as you must be hungry after a short walk.’ (40) NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC VP 儂 伊 迄領 佫 laŋ4 i1 hit7-8-liã3 koʔ7-8 other 3SG that-CL also ‘He also (wore) that piece (of work)
去 做工 khɯ5-3 tsue5-3-kaŋ1 go do-work clothing) to work.’ (lit. he that piece also go
In (38), the speaker aims to express that the subject a1san1 ‘Ah-Shan’ finishes eating a bowl of rice with only a chicken leg, rather than with more vegetables or meat. In this case, the noun a1 san1 ‘Ah-Shan’ and the noun phrase tsit8-4 uã3-2 bãi1 ‘a bowl of rice’ respectively function as an agent and a patient of the transitive verb phrase tsiaʔ8-4 khɯ5 ‘eat’. There is no clear semantic relation between the noun phrase tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 kue1thui3 ‘a chicken leg’ and the verb phrase tsiaʔ8-4 khɯ5-3 tsit8-4 uã3-2 bãi1 ‘eat a bowl of rice’. Thus, the noun phrase tsit8-4 tǝ5-3 kue1thui3 here can be regarded as a background frame-setting topic. The context of (39) is that the addressee, who has just come back from outside, does not feel hungry since he already ate a bowl of noodles before going out,
Semantic relations between topic and comment | 387
while the speaker insists on asking the addressee to have lunch, since she thinks that he must be hungry after a short walk. In this case, the noun hau4sin1ke1 ‘young man’ is the subject of the clause kiã2 tse0 iau0 lɔ0 ‘being hungry after a short walk’. The noun phrase hit7-8 uã3-2 bin5 ‘that bowl of noodles’, however, does not involve a clear semantic relation with the clause kiã2 tse0 iau0 lɔ0, and thus can be interpreted as a background frame-setting topic. Example (40) literally means ‘he that piece (of clothing) also go to work’. Human beings can go to work, while clothes cannot. The context of this example is that Mother told her daughter that the shirt her father happened to be wearing was very dirty, since he had been to work in it. In this case, the complex hit7-8liã3 ‘that piece (of clothing)’ can also be regarded as a background frame-setting topic.
20.3.3 Identical topic Identical topic shares the same form with (part of) the subject, object or even the verb in the comment (Xu & Liu 2007:121), as illustrated by the Mandarin Chinese example in (41). (41) NPSUBJECT VPADJ TOPIC VP 他 兒子 聰明 倒 挺 聰明, tā érzi cōngmíng dào tǐng cōngmíng 3SG Son clever ADV rather clever 就 是 寫 作業 太 粗心 jiù shì xiě zuòyè tài cūxīn only Be write homework too careless ‘Clever, his son is certainly clever, but is too careless in doing his homework.’ In (41), the first occurrence of cōngmíng 聰明 ‘clever’ functions as a topic, sharing the same form with part of the comment dào tǐng cōngmíng 倒挺聰明 ‘rather clever’, where dào is an adverb indicating concession. As with Mandarin Chinese (also the Shanghai variety), this type of topic in Hui’an can be either nominal or verbal. However, in daily conversation, the identical verbal topic is more common than the nominal one. Examples of identical nominal topic are given in (42) and (43).
388 | Topic-comment constructions
(42) NPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 班車, 伊 有 幾 條 班車線 嘛 pan1tshia1 i1 u4 kui3-2 tiau2-4 pan1tshia1-suã5 bã0 shuttle.bus 3SG have several CL shuttle.bus-line SFP ‘As for the shuttle bus, it has several shuttle bus lines.’ (43) NPTOPIC NP 各 儂, 各 儂 其 習慣 kɔk7-8 laŋ2 kɔk7-8 laŋ2 e2-4 siǝp8-4kuan5 each person each person GEN habit ‘For everybody – we each have our own habits.’ In (42), the topic pan1tshia1 ‘shuttle bus’ shares the same form with part of the noun phrase pan1tshia1suã5 ‘shuttle bus line’ in the comment. In (43), the comment is encoded by the possessive noun phrase kɔk7-8 laŋ2 e2-4 siǝp8-4kuan5 ‘each person’s habits’, and the topic kɔk7-8 laŋ2 ‘each person’ shares the same form with the possessor kɔk7-8 laŋ2 in the nominal comment. When encoded by a verb (phrase), the identical topics in Hui’an are typically not separated: they are neither followed by an adverb (e.g. dào in (41)) nor by a pause particle, as shown in (44) and (45). (44) NPTEMPORAL TOPIC VPTOPIC VP 年兜 愛 倒來 倒來, 2-4 1 5-3 5 0 lin tau ai to lai to5lai0 New.Year like come.back come.back 呣愛 倒來 口 倒來 m5-4-ai5-3 to5lai0 buan3-2 to5lai0 not-like come.back do.not come.back ‘The New Year, if (you) want to come back, then come back; if not, then don’t come back.’ (45) VPTOPIC [V + DUR] 愛 口 口 咧 ai5-3 hio4 hio4 leʔ0 like keep keep DUR ‘If (you) would like to keep (it), then keep (it).’ Example (44) involves two juxtaposed topic-comment constructions, where the topics are encoded by the verb phrase ai5-3 to5lai0 ‘want to come back’ and m5-4ai5-3
Semantic relations between topic and comment | 389
to5lai0 ‘don’t want to come back’ respectively, while the comment in both constructions is encoded by the verb phrase to5lai0 ‘come back’. In other words, in this case, the comment shares the same form with part of the topic. In (45), the topic and comment are encoded by the verb phrase ai5-3 hio4 ‘want to keep (it)’ and hio4 leʔ0 ‘keep (it)’, respectively. In this case, part of the topic shares the same form with part of the comment. In addition, the topic-comment constructions in these two examples can also be interpreted as involving topics encoded by a conditional clause. In both cases, the identical topic is neither followed by an adverb nor by a pause particle. The identical topic is also often encoded by a bare verb such as tsɯ3 煮 ‘cook’ in (46) and siɔŋ5-4 khɔ5 上課 ‘take lectures’ in (47). (46) VPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 煮, 我 煮 tsɯ3 gua3 tsɯ3 cook 1SG cook ‘Cooking, let me do it.’ (47) VPTOPIC [ADV + V] 上課 做做 上 siɔŋ5-4khɔ5 tsue5-3tsue5 siɔŋ5 take.lectures together take ‘Take lectures, (we) did it together.’ The identical topic can sometimes be followed by an adverb such as tsiu5 就 ‘then’ in (48) and a4 也 ‘also’ in (49). (48) VPTOPIC [tsiu5 + V + SFP] 來 就 來 嘍 lai2 tsiu5-4 lai2 lɔ0 come then come SFP ‘(They) may come (if they wish).’
390 | Topic-comment constructions
(49) S, NPLOCATIVE TOPIC VPTOPIC [a4 + V + RVC] 四界 看 無, siak7-8kue5 khuã5-3 bo2 everywhere look not.have 佫 房咧 看 也 看 無 koʔ7-8 paŋ2-leʔ0 khuã5 a4 khuã5-3 bo2 and room-LOC look also look not.have ‘(I) didn’t find (it) anywhere, nor did (I) find (it) in the room.’ The identical topic and the main part of the comment can also be connected by the concessive marker khɔ5 與 (< ‘give’), as in (50). (50) VPADJ TOPIC [khɔ5-1 (or khɔ5-4 i1) + VPADJ] 否看 與 否看 phai3-2-khuã5 khɔ5-1 phai3-2-khuã5 bad-look give bad-look ‘Ugly though it may be.’ In (50), the topic is encoded by the adjective phai3-2khuã5 ‘ugly’, and khɔ5 here is a concessive marker (see §18.6 above).
20.3.4 Clause topic The clause topic, taking the form of an entire clause, involves a logical-semantic relation with the comment, rather than a syntactic relation with the comment (Xu & Liu 2007:205). This type of topic in Hui’an normally expresses the protasis in a conditional relation, as in (51) and (52). (51) STOPIC, SCOMMENT 卜 知, 直接 叫 即個 來 做 7-8 1 8-4 7 5-3 7-8 2-4 2-4 boʔ tsai tet tsiǝp kio tsit -e lai tsue5 want know directly call this-CL come do ‘If (we) had known (it), (we) would’ve contacted him directly for the job.’
Semantic relations between topic and comment | 391
(52) STOPIC, SCOMMENT 有 代志, 明日 則 商量 u4 tai5-4tsi5 biã2-4let8 tsiaʔ7-8 siɔŋ1liɔŋ2 have thing tomorrow only.then discuss ‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow, if necessary.’ An adverb may be used to connect the topic and the main part of the comment, as in (53). (53) STOPIC, SCOMMENT 做做 來, 就 包 蜀 個 與 伊 5-3 5 2 5-4 1 8-4 2-4 5 tsue tsue lai tsiu pau tsit e khɔ i0 together come then wrap one CL give 3SG ‘If (they) come together, then wrap one to give him.’ The clause topic is also often in a negative form, as in (54). (54) STOPIC, SCOMMENT 無 燙, 會 否 去 2-4 5 4 3 bo thŋ e phai khɯ0 not.have heat would bad PVC ‘If (we) don’t heat (it), (it) would turn bad.’
20.3.5 Split argument topic According to Liu (2003b[2001]), the patient argument can be split into two syntactic constitutents: one occurs before the main verb functioning as a topic, and the other occurs after the main verb functioning as an object, as in (55), an example from Mandarin Chinese. (55) NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC, [VP + NUM + CL] 他 襯衫 買 了 三 件 (Mandarin Chinese) tā chènshān mǎi le sān jiàn 3SG shirt buy PFV three CL ‘The shirts, he bought three of them.’ (lit. he shirt bought three) In (55), the patient argument sān jiàn chènshān ‘three shirts’ is split into two syntactic constituents: (a) chènshān ‘shirt’ occurs after the subject tā ‘he’ but before
392 | Topic-comment constructions
the main verb mǎi ‘buy’, functioning as a subtopic, and (b) the complex sān jiàn ‘three pieces’ occurs after the main verb mǎi, functioning as its object. The topic chènshān is thus named the ‘split argument topic’ in Liu (2003b[2001]) since it is separated from its classifier phrase sān jiàn. This type of topic in Hui’an is normally encoded by a bare noun phrase, especially a bare noun, as in (56). (56) NPTOPIC [V + NUM + MW] 菜花 炒 蜀 簇 tshai5-3hue1 tsha3 tsit8-4 tshiɔk7 cauliflower fry one MW ‘The cauliflower, fry a little of it.’ The split argument topic can also be encoded by a demonstrative indicating a category of object, as in (57). (57) NPDEM TOPIC [V + MUM + MW] 口 買 蜀 瓶 tse2 bue3 tsit8-4 pan2 this buy one bottle ‘This kind (of cafe), buy a bottle.’ The object in the comment is normally encoded by a [numeral + classifier] complex, as shown in (56) and (57) above. The following example shows that the comment can also be encoded by a demonstrative phrase or a nominalization. (58) NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC [VP + DEM + CL + SFP] 汝 口褲 著 去 穿 迄領 咯, lɯ3 khau3-2khɔ5 tioʔ8-4 khɯ5-3 tshiŋ5-4 hit7-8-liã3 lɔ0 2SG trousers should go wear that-CL SFP [V + NPNOMINALIZATION + SFP] 穿 迄領 黃色 其 咯 tshiŋ5-4 hit7-8-liã3 ŋ2-4siak7 e0 lɔ0 wear that-CL yellow NMLZ SFP ‘As for the trousers, you should wear that pair, the yellow ones.’ (lit. You, as for the trousers, (you) should wear that pair, wear that yellow pair.) In (58), the noun khau3-2khɔ5 ‘trousers’ occurs after the subject ‘you’, functioning as a subtopic, and the classifier phrase hit7-8liã3 ‘that piece’ functions as the object
The position of topic | 393
of the verb tshiŋ5 ‘wear’ in the first clause. The nominalization construction ŋ2siak7 e0 ‘the yellow one’ also serves as the object of the verb tshiŋ5 ‘wear’ in the second clause. The object in the comment is often followed by a verb phrase, as in (59).
4
(59) NPTOPIC NPTEMPORAL TOPIC [VP + NUM + CL + VP] 口 下日 加 買 蜀 領 去 穿 2 4 8 1 3 8-4 3 5-3 tse e let ke bue tsit liã khɯ tshiŋ5 this future more buy one CL go wear ‘As for this kind, in future buy one more pair to wear.’ (lit. This, in the future, buy one more to wear.)
20.4 The position of topic The topic in Hui’an can occur before the subject, functioning as main topic, as in (60), where the topic kha1liau3 骹爪 ‘claw’ is placed before the subject lɯ3 ‘you’. (60) NPTOPIC NPSUBJECT VP 骹爪 汝 卜 呣 kha1liau3 lɯ3 boʔ7 m0 claw 2SG want SFP ‘The (chicken) claw, do you want (it)?’ However, examples like (60) are not common in daily conversation of the Hui’an dialect. When the topic and the subject are both overt in the sentence, the topic is typically placed after the subject and before the main verb in the comment, if not directly before the verb phrase (the comment), i.e. the subtopic position according to Xu & Liu (1998). An example is given in (61), where the topic tɔ2-4tsua3 圖紙 ‘drawing’ can be regarded as a subtopic, since it is placed after the subject en1 𪜶 ‘they’ and before the verb phrase ke5-3 bue4hiau3-2 khuã5 計𣍐曉看 ‘all do not understand’. (61) NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC VP 𪜶 圖紙 計 𣍐曉 看 1 2-4 3 5-3 4 3-2 en tɔ tsua ke bue hiau khuã5 3PL drawing all can.not look ‘As for them – and the drawing, none understand it at all.’ (lit. they the drawing all cannot look)
394 | Topic-comment constructions
The topic can also occur between an auxiliary verb (or an adverb) and the verb (phrase), as in (62) and (63). (62) NPSUBJECT AUX NPTOPIC VP 汝 著 蠟燭油 上 lɯ3 tioʔ8-4 laʔ8-4tsiak7-8-iu2 siɔŋ5 2SG should candle-oil apply ‘You should use the candle oil.’ (lit. you should the candle oil use) (63) NPSUBJECT ADV NPTOPIC VP 我 佫 骹 去 與 儂 按摩 3 7-8 1 5-3 5-4 4 gua koʔ kha khɯ khɔ laŋ an5-3bɔ̃ 2 1SG also foot go give other massage ‘I also had a foot massage.’ (lit. I also foot go let other people give massage) In (62), the topic laʔ8-4tsiak7-8iu2 ‘candle oil’ occurs between the auxiliary verb tioʔ8 ‘should’ and the main verb siɔŋ5 ‘apply’. In (63), the topic kha1 ‘foot’ is placed between the adverb koʔ7 ‘also’ and the verb phrase khɯ5-3 khɔ5-4 laŋ4 an5-3bɔ̃ 2 ‘go to let other people give a massage’. In contrast to this, the subject is often omitted in daily conversation, particularly when it is a speech act participant. In other words, the topic, especially the patient topic, often occurs in the sentence-initial position, followed by the comment, as in (64). (64) NPTOPIC VP 相機 卜 帶 5-3 1 7-8 siɔŋ ki boʔ tua5 camera want take ‘Do (you) want to take the camera (with you)?’ (lit. camera want take) In (64), the subject lɯ3 ‘you’ is omitted, and the patient topic siɔŋ5-3ki1 ‘camera’ is placed in the sentence-initial position. The subject lɯ3 tends to occur before the patient topic siɔŋ5-3ki1, if it is overtly expressed. Hence, the topic siɔŋ5-3ki1 may be regarded as a subtopic with an ellipsed subject in the sentence-initial position. This kind of patient topicalization is discussed directly below in §20.5. Examples so far in this section involve only one topic in the same sentence. As mentioned above, more than one topic can occur in the same sentence. Two more examples are given in (65) and (66).
Patient topicalization | 395
(65) NPSUBJECT NPTEMPORAL TOPIC NPTOPIC VP 汝 今日 衫 無 換 者 lɯ3 kiã1let8 sã1 bo2-4 uã5 tse0 2SG today clothes not.have change DELIM ‘You have not changed clothes today.’ (lit. you today clothes not change) (66) VPTOPIC [VP [NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC VP]] 啊 徛, 看 汝 厝 卜 泉州 買 a0 khia4 khuã5-3 lɯ3 tshu5 boʔ7-8 tsuan2-4tsiu1 bue3 DM live look 2SG house want PN buy 抑 廈門 買 嘍 aʔ8 e5-4bŋ2 bue3 lɔ0 or PN buy SFP ‘As for the residence, this depends on whether you want to buy a house in Quanzhou or Xiamen.’ In (65), the subject lɯ3 ‘you’ occurs at the sentence-initial position, followed by the temporal subtopic kiã1let8 ‘today’ and the patient subtopic sã1 ‘clothes’. In (66), the verb khia4 ‘live’ functions as a topic in the main clause, while the noun tshu5 ‘house’, being semantically the patient of the verb bue3 ‘buy’, functions as a subtopic in the embedded clause.
20.5 Patient topicalization As shown by the examples given in the preceding sections, the object, especially patient objects, that typically occur after the verb in SVO languages, are often preposed directly before the verb (but less frequently before the subject, if present) and, in this position, they functions as a (sub)topic in Hui’an. This section aims to focus on this issue, especially the constructions where patient topicalization is involved, as well as the topicalization of locative objects. In Hui’an, the patient in imperative sentences is normally placed before the verb, functioning as a topic, as in (67), where the patient noun sã1 衫 ‘clothes’ occurs before the verb tshiŋ5 穿 ‘wear’ functioning as a topic. (67) NPTOPIC VP 衫 穿 sã1 tshiŋ5 clothes wear ‘Put on the clothes!’
396 | Topic-comment constructions
Note that an imperative with the patient postposed after the verb is possible too in Hui’an. However, imperatives with the patient preposed before the verb as a (sub)topic, as in (68), are much more natural and common. The patient constituent in double object constructions also typically occurs before the verb functioning as a topic, as in (69), where the noun kue1set8 雞翼 ‘chicken wing’ is placed before the ditransitive verb khɔ5 與 ‘give’, functioning as a topic. (68) NPTOPIC VP 雞翼 與 恁 爸仔 咯 kue1-set8 khɔ5-4 len3-2 pa2-a0 lɔ0 chicken-wing give 2PL father-NM SFP ‘The chicken wing has been given to your father.’ The patient in verb-complement constructions is also often preposed to function as a topic, as in (69), where the noun phiŋ2-4kɔ3 蘋果 ‘apple’, semantically the patient of the resultative verb complement construction tsiaʔ8-4 liau3 食了 ‘eat up’, occurs at the sentence-initial position to function as a topic. Note that the noun phiŋ2-4kɔ3 cannot occur after the resultative verb complement construction. (69) NPTOPIC VP 蘋果 食 了 咯 phiŋ2-4kɔ3 tsiaʔ8-4 liau3 lɔ0 apple eat RVC SFP ‘The apple has been eaten up.’ The patient of the first verb phrase in serial verb constructions also often occurs before the verb functioning as a topic, as in (70), where the noun te2 茶 ‘tea’, being the patient of the first verb phaŋ2 捧 ‘hold’ in the serial verb construction phaŋ2 khɔ5-4 i1 liǝm1 捧與伊啉 ‘hold in both hands for him to drink’, is preposed before the verb phaŋ2 to function as a subtopic. (70) NPSUBJECT ADV NPTOPIC VP 汝 著 茶 捧 與 伊 啉 lɯ tioʔ8-4 te2 phaŋ2 khɔ5-4 i1 liǝm1 2SG should tea hold give 3SG drink ‘You should hold the tea in both hands for him to drink.’
Patient topicalization | 397
As mentioned in §20.1 and illustrated by many previous examples, the topic usually refers to something that is identifiable for both the speaker and the addressee, being typically either definite or generic. However, an indefinite patient topic is also found in Hui’an, as in (71). (71) QW NPTOPIC VP 哪 蜀 張 相 創 咧 搭 5-3 8-4 1 5 5 7-8 lã tsit tiũ siɔŋ tshɔŋ leʔ taʔ7 how one CL picture do at here ‘Why has a picture been put here?’ In (71), the indefinite noun phrase tsit8-4 tiũ1 siɔŋ5 ‘a picture’, semantically the patient of the verb phrase tshɔŋ5 leʔ7-8 taʔ7 ‘put here’, occurs before this verb phrase and functions as a topic. Even though it is encoded by an indefinite noun phrase, the topic tsit8-4 tiũ1 siɔŋ5 refers to a specific entity and can be identified by both the speaker and the addressee. The indefinite noun phrase tsit8-4 tiũ1 siɔŋ5 may occur after the verb tshɔŋ5, though it is less natural than the pre-verbal position. It is quite common in Chinese for locative nouns to act as the direct objects of motion verbs, that is, in syntactically transitive constructions (see Chao 1968). For this reason, locative nouns are included under this discussion of patient topicalization. Some locative constituents which normally occur after the verb in SVO languages such as Mandarin and Hakka are preferentially preposed however in Hui’an, as in (72) and (73). (72) NPLOCATIVE TOPIC VP, S 門 未 入, 電話 已經 到 咯 bŋ2 bǝ5-4 liǝp8 ten5-4ue5 i3-2kiŋ1 kau5 lɔ0 door not.yet enter telephone already arrive SFP ‘Before I entered the door, the telephone rang.’ (73) NPLOCATIVE TOPIC VP 迄搭 呣 八 去 著 hit7-8-taʔ7 m5-4 pat7-8 khɯ5 tioʔ0 that-LOC not EXP go EXP ‘I have not been there.’
398 | Topic-comment constructions
In (72), bŋ2 ‘door’ occurs before the verb phrase bǝ5-4 liǝp8 ‘have not entered’. Similarly, hit7-8taʔ7 ‘there’ in (73) is placed before the verb phrase m5-4pat7-8 khɯ5 tioʔ0 ‘have not been to’.
20.6 Topic markers Topic markers in Chinese commonly include pause and pause particles, among which, pause particles, roughly equivalent to sentence-medial particles, are commonly used in some Chinese varieties such as the Shanghai variety. A similar case can be found in Hui’an, as in (74), where the clause topic lã4 si4 siu1liǝp8 若是 收入 ‘as for the salary’ is followed by the particle hau0. (74) NPTOPIC TM VP 若 是 收入 口, 算 野 4 4 1 8 0 5-3 lã si siu liǝp hau sŋ ia3-2 if be salary SFP count quite ‘As for the salary, it is quite low.’
低 ke4 low
咯 lɔ0 SFP
However, this is not common in Hui’an. Note also that the particle hau0 in (74) is not exclusively used as a topic marker, since it can also be used in a different position as a sentence-final particle, as in (75), where the particle hau0 is used to ask for confirmation. (75) 汝 坐 搭 口 lɯ3 tsǝ4 taʔ7 hau0 2SG sit here SFP ‘Sit here, OK?’ The topic in Hui’an is basically not followed by any obviously audible pause.1 The lack of a prominent pause means that any pause between the topic and the comment, if there is one, is the same as that to be had between the subject and the predicate, or between other sentence constituents. In all the examples given so far, except example (66) (reproduced in (76) below), there is no audible pause between the topic and the comment that can be detected in the recordings.
|| 1 We have carefully checked our recordings and transcriptions and there is no audible pause.
Contrastive function of topic | 399
(76) VPTOPIC [VP [NPSUBJECT NPTOPIC VP]] 啊 徛, 看 汝 厝 卜 泉州 買 a0 khia4 khuã5-3 lɯ3 tshu5 boʔ7-8 tsuan2-4tsiu1 bue3 DM live look 2SG house want PN buy 抑 廈門 買 嘍 aʔ8 e5-4bŋ2 bue3 lɔ0 or PN buy SFP ‘As for the residence, this depends on whether you want to buy a house in Quanzhou or Xiamen.’ In this case, when the topic khia4 ‘live’ is uttered, the speaker is still thinking about what she is going to say. In other words, the pause following the topic khia4 is more like a pause for thought, though it may highlight the topic khia4 in some way. In other words, the main method for identifying a topic in Hui’an is the word order of a given structure: the topic is always placed before the main verb, though it may occupy a range of positions in the different types of topic constructions discussed in the preceding sections (e.g. occurring between the auxiliary verb and the main verb). This may also show that topic in Hui’an is more like an unmarked constituent, in not being signalled by a formal marker. In fact, this is consonant with Liu (2001)’s viewpoint of topic-comment forming a common construction type in Wu and Min.
20.7 Contrastive function of topic According to Xu & Liu (2007:195), one of the main functions of topic is for contrast. In Hui’an, however, topic constructions are rarely used in this way. Consider the example of patient topicalization in (77) which is not however contrastive in Hui’an: (77) 我 錢 交 蠻儕 gua3 tsin2 kau1 ban2-4tsue5 1SG money pay much ‘I have paid a lot of money.’ In (77), the noun tsin2 ‘money’, semantically the patient of the verb kau1 ‘pay’, occurs immediately after the subject gua3 ‘I’ to function as a subtopic. This example is used to express ‘I have paid a lot of money’, rather than to contrast with other situations.
400 | Topic-comment constructions
As mentioned above, the topic in the Shanghai variety is often followed by a pause particle, which is the main way to express contrastive topic in this variety. Similarly, the topic markers in Japanese and Korean often involve a contrastive function. This may explain why the topic in Hui’an is normally not used with – and does not need - a pause particle. All these features - lack of a contrastive function, lack of a formal topic marker, and prevalence of object topicalization -may show that the topic in Hui’an tends to be an unmarked constituent in the sentence, with a less pragmatic and, consequently, a more syntactic function.
20.8 Summary This chapter has examined the topic-comment construction in Hui’an from six aspects: (a) forms of topics; (b) semantic relations between topic and comment; (c) positions of topics; (d) patient topicalization including locative objects; (e) topic markers; and (f) the contrastive function of topic. The topic in Hui’an can be encoded by different categories of words, phrases and clauses, including personal pronouns, demonstratives, noun phrases, numerals, time and location words, verb, adjective and clause. Following Xu & Liu (2007) and Liu (2003b[2001]), the topics in Hui’an can be classified into five types in terms of the semantic relations between topic and comment: (a) coreferential (pseudo-)argument topic; (b) frame-setting topic; (c) identical topic; (d) clause topic; and (e) split-argument topic. Unlike Mandarin Chinese in which the topic always occurs in sentence-initial position, the topic in Hui’an normally occurs after the subject and before the main verb in the comment (i.e. constituting a subtopic in Xu & Liu (2007)’s term), especially when both the topic and the subject are present in the sentence. The topic may occur between the subject and the verb phrase, or occur after both the subject and an auxiliary verb (or an adverb), but always before the main verb in the comment. In daily conversation, the subject is often omitted, particularly when it is a speech act participant. In other words, the topic often occurs at the sentenceinitial position with an omitted preceding subject. More than one topic may occur in the same sentence. The object, especially the patient object, that typically occurs after the verb in SVO languages is often found preposed before the verb functioning as a (sub)topic in Hui’an. Patient topicalization typically occurs with imperative sentences, double object constructions, verb-complement constructions, and serial verb constructions. The topic usually refers to something that is identifiable for both speaker and the addressee, being typically either definite or generic. In
Summary | 401
Hui’an, an indefinite patient topic is also attested, although, even then, it usually refers to a specific referent. Some locative constituents acting as direct objects of motion verbs and which would normally occur after the verb in SVO languages are preferentially preposed in Hui’an. Unlike some Chinese varieties such as Wu, the topic in Hui’an is basically not followed by either an obvious pause or a pause particle. In other words, the main method for identifying a topic in Hui’an is the word order of a given structure, i.e. the topic is always placed before the verb. In additon, the topic in Hui’an is rarely used for contrast. All these suggest that the topic in Hui’an is more like an unmarked constituent.
| Part IV: complex sentences The term ‘complex sentences’ traditionally refers to grammatical constructions consisting of multiple clauses, which include two categories: one involving coordinate clauses, and the other involving a matrix clause and a subordinate clause (cf. Frajzyngier 1996; Diessel 2004, among others). Subordinate clauses are traditionally further classified into three subtypes: complement clauses, relative clauses, and adverbial clauses (cf. Cristofaro 2003; Diessel 2004; Longacre 2007; Thompson, Longacre & Hwang 2007, among others). This part examines these four types of complex sentence in Hui’an: coordination (chapter 21), relative clauses (chapter 22), adverbial clauses (chapter 23) and complement clauses (chapter 24). Chapter 21 focuses on three main semantic types of coordination, i.e. conjunction, disjunction and adversative coordination. For comparison, coordination involving non-clausal units is also mentioned. In chapter 22, we discuss restrictive relative clauses based on four parameters: (a) the relativization marker used; (b) the position of the head noun in relation to the relative clause; (c) the role and encoding of the head noun in the relative clause; and (d) the role and encoding of the head noun in the main clause. Chapter 23 focuses on how four types of adverbial clauses are encoded in Hui’an: time, cause, purpose and conditional clauses. Chapter 24 examines complement clauses, which typically function as an object of the main clause, as well as their use with complementizers.
21 Coordination 21.1 Introduction Coordination and subordination serve as two important clause linkage strategies. Unlike subordination, however, coordination may also function as a strategy linking two non-clausal units, such as words and phrases. More specifically, the term ‘coordination’ is traditionally used to refer to ‘syntactic constructions in which two or more units of the same type are combined into a larger unit and still have the same semantic relations with other surrounding elements’, while the units involved include words, phrases, subordinate clauses and full sentences (cf. Haspelmath 2007:1). Four English examples of coordination are given in (1). (1)
a. b. c. d.
Mary is tall and beautiful. A boy or two girls are at home. He likes to play basketball and to sing popular songs. I like going to the zoo, and I like bringing my friends to the zoo.
In (1a), two adjectives, i.e. tall and beautiful, are combined into a larger unit (i.e. tall and beautiful). Example (1b) involves two noun phrases, i.e. A boy and two girls. The two units connected by the morpheme and in (1c), i.e. to play basketball and to sing popular songs, are subordinate clauses. In (1d), the morpheme and is used to link two full sentences, i.e. I like going to the zoo and I like bringing my friends to the zoo. The units of a coordinate coordination such as tall and beautiful in (1a) are called coordinands, while the particle or affix used to link the coordinands such as English and and or in (1) are labeled the coordinator (cf. Haspelmath 2004, 2007), or the coordinating conjunction (cf. Schachter & Shopen 2007:45). Different coordinators may be used according to the different syntactic types of coordinand, depending on the language (Haspelmath 2007:3). This is also true for the Hui’an dialect. Thus, in this chapter, coordination involving non-clausal units will also be examined for comparison. According to Haspelmath (2004, 2007), there are three main semantic types of coordination, i.e. conjunction, disjunction and adversative coordination. Conjunction as in example (1a) above is also called ‘conjunctive coordination’, or “‘and’-coordination” in which ‘and’ refers to English and and its equivalents in other languages. Similarly, disjunction is also called ‘disjunctive coordination’, or “‘or’ -coordination”, as in (1b). Adversative coordination also goes under the name of “‘but’ -coordination”, as in example (2) below. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-021
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(2) The dwarfs were ugly but kind. (Haspelmath 2007:2) In the following sections, we will examine how these three semantic types of coordination are encoded in Hui’an.
21.2 Conjunction As with Mandarin Chinese, different coordinators are required for nominal and verbal/clausal conjunction in Hui’an. Either kaʔ7 合 ‘and’ or kiau1 交 ‘and’, being counterparts of Mandarin coordinators such as hé 和 and gēn 跟, is used in nominal conjunction, as exemplified by (3) – (5). (3) 糖 合/交 鹽 thŋ2 kaʔ7-8/kiau1 iǝm2 sugar and salt ‘sugar and salt’ (4) 我 合/交 3 gua kaʔ7-8/kiau1 1SG and ‘he and I’
伊 i1 3SG
(5) 聽 合/交 寫 𣍐 否 thiã1 kaʔ7-8/kiau1 sia3 bue4 phai3 listen and write can.not bad ‘(He is) good at both listening and writing.’ In (3), the coordinators kaʔ7 and kiau1 are used to connect the nouns thŋ2 ‘sugar’ and iǝm2 ‘salt’. In (4), kaʔ7 and kiau1 connect the first person singular pronoun gua3 and the third person singular pronoun i1. The morphemes thiã1 ‘listen’ and sia3 ‘write’ are originally verbs denoting actions. In (5), however, thiã1 and sia3 both denote skills, rather than actions. In addition, thiã1 kaʔ7-8/kiau1 sia3 ‘listening and writing’ in (5) functions as a complex noun phrase to be used as a subject. In other words, the status of thiã1 and sia3 in (5) probably reflects a process of nominalization, thereby creating deverbal nouns in Hui’an. Comparatively speaking, the coordinator kiau1 is less used than kaʔ7 in daily conversation in the contemporary Hui’an dialect. Similar to Mandarin Chinese, the coordinands in nominal conjunction in Hui’an can be juxtaposed without a coordinator, as in (6).
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(6) 灶骹、 兩 間 浴室 計 有 tsau5-3kha1 lŋ4 kuin1 iɔk8-4siak7 ke5-3 u4 kitchen two CL bathroom all have ‘The kitchen and two bathrooms all have (hot water).’ In (6), the noun tsau5-3kha1 ‘kitchen’ and the noun phrase lŋ4 kuin1 iɔk8-4siak7 ‘two bathrooms’ are connected without any coordinator such as kaʔ7 and kiau1. However, a pause is normally audible between the coordinands, reflected in the transcription by the punctuation mark “、” in (6). The coordinands in nominal conjunction may be followed by a particle such as lɔ0 咯 in (7). (7) 蘋果 咯、 梨仔 咯 phiŋ2-4kɔ3 lɔ0 lai2-4-a3 lɔ0 apple PRT pear-NM PRT ‘apples and pears’ Similar particles used in nominal conjunction in Mandarin Chinese involve a 啊 and la 啦 (Zhu 1982:156). These coordinative structures should be compared with nouns that have been juxtaposed without either a coordinator or a pause when they form a conceptual unit, i.e. constituting a compound word, as in (8). (8) 糖仔餅 thŋ2-4-a3-2-pia͂ 3 sugar-NM-biscuit ‘snacks (like candy and biscuit)’ In (8), thŋ2-4a3 and pia͂ 3 are originally nouns meaning ‘candy’ and ‘biscuit’ respectively, while the compounding of thŋ2-4a3 and pia͂ 3 forms a conceptual unit denoting ‘snacks’. The coordinator koʔ7 佫 ‘and’ is used in both verbal and clausal conjunction. Two examples of verbal conjunction are given in (9) and (10). (9) 伊 走 佫 跳 1 3 7-8 i tsau koʔ thiau5 3SG run and jump ‘He runs and jumps.’
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(10) 糖仔 芳 佫 甜 thŋ2-4-a3 phaŋ1 koʔ7-8 tin1 sugar-NM fragrant and sweet ‘The candy is both fragrant and sweet.’ In (9), the coordinator koʔ7 is used to connect two actions encoded by the verbs tsau3 ‘run’ and thiau5 ‘jump’. In (10), the coordinator koʔ7 conjoins two states which are expressed by the adjectives (stative verbs) phaŋ1 ‘fragrant’ and tin1 ‘sweet’. In addition, tsau3 koʔ7-8 thiau5 ‘run and jump’ and phaŋ1 koʔ7-8 tin1 ‘fragrant and sweet’ are both verb phrases used as predicates. Both these two examples would be marked by the adverb yòu 又 in Mandarin Chinese, as in tā yòu pǎo yòu tiào 他又跑又跳 ‘he runs and jumps’. The following is an example of koʔ7 connecting two clauses. (11) 兩 個 出門 咯, 4 2 7-8 2 e tshut -bŋ lɔ0 lŋ two CL out-door SFP 佫 遘 㑑搭 無 利便 koʔ7-8 kau5-3 lan3-taʔ7 bo2-4 li5-4pen5 and arrive 1PL-LOC not.have convenient ‘Those two don’t live at home, and it is not convenient to come here.’ In (11), the speaker is giving two reasons why he suggests a simple rather than a grand wedding ceremony. In this instance, the two units connected by koʔ7 are both independent clauses. Note that, in Mandarin Chinese, clausal conjunction is usually marked by a conjunction such as érqiě 而且, as in (12). (12) 他們 兩 個 都 不 在 家,(Mandarin Chinese) tāmen liǎng ge dōu bù zài jiā 3PL two CL all not be.at home 而且 到 我們 這兒 也 不 方便 érqiě dào wǒmen zhèr yě bù fāngbiàn and arrive 1PL here also not convenient ‘Those two don’t live at home, and it is not convenient to come here.’ As with Mandarin Chinese, verbal and clausal conjunction in Hui’an may be marked by the adverb a4 也 ‘also’, as in (13) - (15).
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(13) 伊 也 無 歁 i1 a4 bo2-4 kham3 3SG also not.have stupid ‘He is neither stupid nor dull.’
也 無 怣 a4 bo2-4 gɔŋ5 also not.have dull
(14) 汝 也 卜 買 厝 也 卜 創 甚物 lɯ3 a4 boʔ7-8 bue3-2 tshu5 a4 boʔ7-8 tshɔŋ5-3 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 2SG also want buy house also want do what ‘You want to buy a house, and also want to do other things.’ (15) 阮 老師 也 姓 陳, 3-2 4 1 4 5-3 gun lau sɯ a sin tan2 1PL teacher also one’s surname.is TAN 阮 領導 也 姓 陳 gun3-2 liŋ3-2tɔ5 a4 sin5-3 tan2 1PL leader also one’s surname.is TAN ‘The surname of my teacher is Tan, and the surname of my boss is also Tan.’ In (13), the adjectival phrases bo2-4 kham3 ‘not stupid’ and bo2-4 gɔŋ5 ‘not dull’ are both preceded by the adverb a4 ‘also’. Similarly, the verb phrases boʔ7-8 bue3-2 tshu5 ‘want to buy a house’ and boʔ7-8 tshɔŋ5-3 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7 ‘want to do something’ in (14) both follow the adverb a4. As is clear from these two examples, when a verbal conjunction is marked by the adverb a4 ‘also’, the coordinands are typically encoded by a verb phrase, rather than a bare verb such as tsau3 ‘run’ and thiau5 ‘jump’ in example (9) above. In (15), both clauses involve the adverb a4 ‘also’, which is placed between the subject (i.e. gun3-2 lau4sɯ1 ‘my teacher’ and gun3-2 liŋ32 5 tɔ ‘my boss’, respectively) and the verb phrase (i.e. sin5-3 tan2 ‘one’s surname is Tan’). In examples (13) – (15), the adverb a4 ‘also’ is used in each coordinand in verbal and clausal conjunction. In fact, as illustrated by the following two examples, the first coordinand can occur without the adverb a4 ‘also’. (16) 伊 呣 愛 聽 也 呣 愛 應 m5-4 ai5-3 thia͂ 1 a4 m5-4 ai5-3 en5 i1 3SG not like listen also not like answer ‘He neither likes listening nor answering.’
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(17) 伊 呣 食, 我 也 呣 食 i1 m5-4 tsiaʔ8 gua3 a4 m5-4 tsiaʔ8 3SG not eat 1SG also not eat ‘He didn’t want to eat (it), and neither did I.’ The second coordinand in verbal conjunction in (16) m5-4 ai5-3 en5 ‘doesn’t like answering’ is preceded by the adverb a4 ‘also’, while the first coordinand m5-4 ai5-3 thia͂ 1 ‘doesn’t like listening’ is not. Similarly, in clausal conjunction in (17), only the second clause gua3 a4 m5-4 tsiaʔ8 ‘I also didn’t want to eat (it)’ involves the adverb a4 ‘also’. The coordinands in verbal and clausal conjunction can also be juxtaposed without overt marking of a coordinator, as in (18) and (19). (18) 伊 規日 陪 儂 食 陪 儂 i1 kui1-let8 pue2-4 laŋ4 tsiaʔ8 pue2-4 laŋ4 3SG whole-day accompany other eat accompany other ‘He eats and drinks with other people all the time.’
啉 liǝm1 drink
(19) 蜀 隻 㑑 其, 蜀 隻 𪜶 同事 其 8-4 7-8 3 2 8-4 7-8 1 2-4 5 tsit tsiaʔ lan e tsit tsiaʔ en tɔŋ sɯ e2 one CL 1PL GEN one CL 3PL colleague GEN ‘One (duck) is ours, and the other one belongs to his colleague.’ In (18), the verb phrases pue2-4 laŋ4 tsiaʔ8 ‘eat with other people’ and pue2-4 laŋ4 liǝm1 ‘drink with other people’ are connected without a coordinator, as too in (19) for the two clauses tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7-8 lan3 e2 ‘one is ours’ and tsit8-4 tsiaʔ7-8en1 tɔŋ2-4sɯ5 e2 ‘one belongs to his colleague’. As shown by these two examples, when a coordinator is not used, the coordinands in verbal and clausal conjunction usually have similar structures, though this is not obligatory. To summarize, the forms which these coordinate structures take, according to the constituency, is as follows: (i) NP (Coord.) NP (ii) VP (Coord.) VP (iii) Clause (Coord.) Clause (iv) NP (ADV) Clause, (NP) ADV Clause
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21.3 Disjunction In Hui’an, the coordinators aʔ8 抑/aʔ8-4si4 抑是 ‘or’ are used for all syntactic types of coordinand in the case of disjunctive coordination. Examples are given in (20) – (22). (20) 阿姨 抑(是) 阿舅 卜 來 a1-i2 aʔ8-4(si4) a1-ku4 boʔ7-8 lai2 PREF-aunt or PREF-uncle want come (a) ‘Aunt or uncle will come.’ (b) ‘Will aunt or uncle come?’ (21) 澹 抑(是) 無 澹 2 8-4 4 2-4 tam aʔ (si ) bo tam2 wet or not.have wet ‘wet or not’ (22) 汝 過來 抑(是) 我 過去 lɯ3 kǝ5-3lai2 aʔ8-4(si4) gua3 kǝ5-3khɯ5 2SG come.over or 1SG go.over ‘Do you want to come to my place, or I go to your place?’ In (20), the coordinators aʔ8(-4si4) are used to connect the nouns a1i2 ‘aunt’ and a1ku4 ‘uncle’, and there are two possible interpretations for the whole sentence: on the one hand, it can be regarded as a declarative sentence as in (20a); on the other hand, it can serve as an alternative interrogative, as in (20b). It should be mentioned, however, that the interpretation for (20b) is more common than the one for (20a). In (21), the coordinators aʔ8(-4si4) connect the adjective tam2 ‘wet’ and its negative form bo2-4 tam2 ‘not wet’. In (22), the two coordinands connected by aʔ8(-4si4) are represented by two clauses, i.e. lɯ3 kǝ5-3lai2 ‘you come to my place’ and gua3 kǝ5-3khɯ5 ‘I go to your place’. As illustrated by these examples, a coordinator is always required for disjunction in Hui’an, unlike conjunctive coordination examined in §21.2 above. Another way to express (20a) in Hui’an is shown in example (23) below.
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(23) 阿姨 卜 來, a1-i2 boʔ7-8 lai2 PREF-aunt want come 無 就(是) 阿舅 卜 來 bo2 tsiu5-4(si4) a1-ku4 boʔ7-8 lai2 not.have then(be) PREF-uncle want come ‘Aunt or uncle will come.’ (lit. Aunt will come, if not, then uncle will come) In (23), bo2, originally a verb meaning ‘not have, not possess’, is used here as a conjunction to mean ‘if not, otherwise’.
21.4 Adversative coordination In Hui’an, the typical adversative coordinator is m5-4koʔ8 ‘but’, which is used to link two clauses, as in (24). (24) 伊 也 會 洗, i1 a4 e4 sue3 3SG also can wash 呣口 伊 也 無 清氣 m5-4koʔ8 i1 a4 bo2-4 tshiŋ1khi5 but 3SG also not.have clean ‘He is also willing to wash (the dishes), but he doesn’t get them clean.’ In (24), the coordinator m5-4koʔ8 is used to introduce the statement i1 a4 bo2-4 tshiŋ1khi5 ‘he doesn’t get them clean’ (lit. he also not clean), which is in contrast to the preceding statement i1 a4 e4 sue3 ‘he is also willing to wash (the dishes)’. The coordinator for adversative coordination in Mandarin Chinese, i.e. dànshì 但是 ‘but’,can also be found in daily conversation in the contemporary Hui’an dialect, as in (25). However, it is confined to the younger generation and much less used in general than m5-4koʔ8. (25) 伊 無 說 是, bo2-4 sǝʔ7-8 si4 i1 3SG not.have say be 但是 逐個 褿 知影 咯 tan5-4si4 tak8-4-e2 tsau2-4 tsai1iã3 lɔ0 but every-CL all know SFP ‘She didn’t admit (it), but everyone knew (it).’
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In most cases, however, the two clauses are juxtaposed without a coordinator, as in (26). (26) 開始 懷 野 緊, 後尾 等 遘 蠻 久 khai1si3 huai2 ia3-2 ken3 au4bǝ3 tan3 a5-3 ban2-4 ku3 begin those quite fast back wait CM rather long ‘The things went quite fast at the beginning, but later (I) waited for a long time.’ When the coordinands in adversative coordination are encoded by a structurally equivalent verb phrase, as in (27), the coordinator is not required. (27) 汝 有 房 無 車 lɯ3 u4 paŋ2 bo2-4 tshia1 2SG have room not.have vehicle ‘You have a house, but don’t have a car.’ In (27), the two verb phrases u4 paŋ2 ‘have a house’ and bo2-4 tshia1 ‘don’t have a car’ are connected without a coordinator. Semantically speaking, the second one is in contrast to the first one.
21.5 Summary This chapter has examined three main semantic types of coordination, i.e. conjunction, disjunction and adversative coordination. Coordination involving nonclausal units has also been touched upon for the purposes of comparison. Different coordinators are required for nominal and verbal/clausal conjunction. Either kaʔ7 合 ‘and’ or kiau1 交 ‘and’ is used in nominal conjunction, while the coordinator koʔ7 佫 ‘and’ is used in both verbal and clausal conjunction. Verbal and clausal conjunction may also be marked by the adverb a4 也 ‘also’. Nonetheless, the coordinands in both nominal and verbal/clausal conjunction can be juxtaposed without a coordinator. The coordinators aʔ8 抑/aʔ8-4si4 抑是 ‘or’ are used for all syntactic types of coordinand in the case of disjunctive coordination. The typical adversative coordinator is m5-4koʔ8 ‘but’, which is used to link two clauses. The coordinator for adversative coordination in Mandarin Chinese, i.e. dànshì 但是 ‘but’, can also be found in daily conversation in the contemporary Hui’an dialect, but is confined to the younger generation and much less used in general than m5-4koʔ8. In most cases, however, the two clauses are juxtaposed
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without a coordinator. When the coordinands in adversative coordination are encoded by a structurally equivalent verb phrase, the coordinator is not required.
22 Relative clauses 22.1 Introduction Early studies on relative clauses focus on English. The term ‘relative clause’ in English refers to a clause that modifies a noun (phrase) and which involves the following characteristics: (a) contains a finite verb; (b) delimits the potential referents of the noun modified, or presents new information about an already identified entity, i.e. a distinction between respectively a restrictive relative clause and a non-restrictive relative clause; and (c) the noun modified (i.e. the head noun) is coreferential with an argument of the relative clause (cf. Comrie 1989; Tang 2005). This definition of relative clause tends to be syntactically based, and thus is inadequate to identify the relative clause in other languages or even to investigate the relative clause from a cross-linguistic perspective. Due to this limitation, a semantically-based definition of relative clause, such as that put forward by Song (2001), is required. According to Song (2001:211), the relative clause ‘consists of two components: the head noun and the restricting clause. The semantic function of the head noun is to establish a set of entities, which may be called the domain of relativization…whereas that of the restricting clause is to identify a subset of the domain…by imposing a semantic condition on the domain of relativization referred to by the head noun’. The following is an example of the relative clause provided by Song (2001:211). (1)
The girl whom Miss Edge coached won the game.
The domain of relativization “is denoted by the head noun the girl. This domain of relativization is then ‘narrowed down’…to the only entity that can satisfy the condition expressed by the restricting clause whom Miss Edge coached”. Similar definitions for the relative clause can also be found in some early and important studies on relative clauses, e.g. Keenan & Comrie (1977), Keenan (1985) and Comrie (1981, 1989) which all focus mainly on this restrictive type and only marginally discuss the less common non-restrictive types. In fact, the term ‘relative clause’ is more often used to refer to the restricting clause, as indicated by the traditional syntactically based definition of the English relative clause and more recent studies on the relative clause such as Givón (1990) and Dryer (2013). Take (1) as an example. The term ‘relative clause’ nowadays usually refers to the
|| Note: A preliminary version of this chapter also appeared in Chen (2017). https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-022
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restricting clause whom Miss Edge coached, while the nominal construction consisting of the head noun and the relative clause, i.e. the girl whom Miss Edge coached, is regarded as the relative clause construction. Note that the definition of the relative clause as proposed by Song (2001) is a definition of the restrictive relative clause, which is our focus in this chapter. For the purposes of comparison, an example of a non-restrictive relative clause is given in (2). (2) The man, who had arrived yesterday, left this morning. (Comrie 1989:138) In example (1) above, the restrictive relative clause (RC) whom Miss Edge coached is used to help the addressee identify the girl in question. In (2), however, the speaker assumes that the addressee can identify, this time, the man in question, and the non-restrictive relative clause who had arrived yesterday is only used to give the addressee an added piece of information about an already identified entity, rather than help identify that entity (Comrie 1989:138). Some nice work has been done on relative clauses in Chinese, e.g. Matthews & Yip (2011), Fang (2004), Liu (2005a), Tang (2005) and Xu (2007) (see Fang (2004) and Tang (2005) for a review of studies on relative clauses in Chinese). These studies focus on several Chinese varieties such as Beijing Mandarin, Guanzhong Mandarin, Hong Kong Cantonese and Suzhou Wu. There are, however, still several important questions that need further research and discussion, as revealed by the following set. (i) It has been argued that the basic relative clause in Beijing Mandarin and Suzhou Wu is the relative clause marked by the general attributive marker (i.e. de 的 and kǝʔ葛, respectively) and the basic relative clause in Yue is the one marked by a demonstrative–classifier phrase, while Guanzhong Mandarin tends to use the relative clause marked by a demonstrative (or both a demonstrative and the attributive marker de 的) (Liu 2005a; Tang 2005). Can these three types cover all the possibilities in Chinese? Can the basic relative clause in other branches of Chinese belong to a different type? In fact, we will show that there are also zero-marked relative clause constructions in Hui’an, not to mention postnominal ones (see Matthews & Yip 2011 as well on zeromarked relative clauses in Cantonese). (ii) According to previous typological studies, SVO languages have a distinct preference to use the head-initial type of relative clause, while Chinese (exemplified by Chinese varieties such as Mandarin, Hakka and Yue) is one of the few SVO languages that uses the head-final type of relative clause (see
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Dryer 2005a). Fang (2004) found that there exists a non-restrictive head-initial type of relative clause in Beijing Mandarin which is introduced by the relative pronoun tā 他 (< 3SG). The question to ask in this case is whether the restrictive head-initial type of relative clause in Chinese also exists, especially for those varieties involving a greater number of characteristics typical of SOV languages such as Min and Wu? In addition, is there a head-internal type of relative clause in Chinese? (iii) Traditional syntactically-based definitions of the relative clause require the head noun being coreferential with an argument in the relative clause, and thus the relative clause is termed ‘argument relative clause’. When the semantically-based definition of relative clause is used, what other kinds of relative clause can be attested in Chinese, besides the argument relative clause? (iv) The demonstrative elements in Guanzhong Mandarin can constitute a headless relative clause [relative clause (de 的) – demonstrative element] (Tang 2005). The question to ask is whether demonstrative elements in other Chinese varieties can have a similar function. In other words, can similar constructions be found that can be regarded as head-less relative clause constructions? In this chapter, we attempt to answer some of these questions by examining the restrictive relative clause in Hui’an in terms of the following four parameters: (a) the relativization marker used (§22.2); (b) the position of the head noun relative to the relative clause (§22.3); (c) the role and encoding of the head noun in the relative clause (§22.4); and (d) the role and encoding of the head noun in the main clause (§22.5).
22.2 The relativization markers Liu (2005) has put forward two syntactic criteria for identifying relativization markers which involve a substitution test: (a) if a relativization marker is used which does not belong to the attributive DE type as in Mandarin, the latter will not be necessary; and (b) once a relativization marker is deleted which does not belong to the attributive DE type, another relativization marker such as the attributive DE type is needed to replace it. We will apply these two criteria to our Hui’an data in the discussion below. Liu also states that relativization markers in Chinese include the de 的-type general attributive marker, demonstratives (e.g. in
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Beijing Mandarin and Yue), demonstrative complexes1 (e.g. in Beijing Mandarin and Yue), classifiers (e.g. in Wu), and pre-postpositional compounds (e.g. in Wu) (see Liu 2005 for more details). All these types of relativization marker except prepostpositional compounds can be attested in Hui’an. In addition, relative clauses in Hui’an can be zero-marked in that there is no special relativization marker to indicate that the constituent is a relative clause. Comparatively speaking, relative clauses marked by demonstratives (or demonstrative complexes) and zeromarked relative clauses are more common than the other types. This section will focus on relativization markers. In terms of relativization markers (whether a relativization marker is used (i.e. zero-marked or not), and which one), relative clauses in Hui’an fall into five subtypes (following the syntactic criteria put forward by Liu (2005)): (a) relative clauses marked by the attributive marker e2 其 (i.e. §22.2.1) [VP + e2 其 RM]RC - NPHEAD e2 其 is a typical relativization marker (b) relative clauses marked by demonstratives (i.e. §22.2.2) RC - [DEMRM + NP]HEAD Unlike e2 其, DEM constitutes a part of the head noun and simultaneously functions as a relativization marker. (c) relative clauses marked by demonstrative complexes (i.e. §22.2.3) RC - [[DEM + CL]RM + NP]HEAD ‘DEM + CL’ constitutes a part of the head noun and simultaneously functions as a relativization marker. (d) relative clauses marked by classifiers (i.e. §22.2.4) RC - [CLRM + NP]HEAD CL constitutes a part of the head noun and simultaneously functions as a rel ativization marker. (e) zero-marked relative clauses (i.e. §22.2.5) Zero-marked relative clauses structurally fall into three subtypes: (i) RC - DEMHEAD (ii) RC - [DEM + CL]HEAD (iii) RC - COMMON NOUNHEAD In §22.2.5, we explain why (e-i) and (e-ii) are regarded as zero-marked relative clauses. Why has it proved necessary to give an explanation here? Because similar structures in Guanzhong Mandarin are regarded as headless relative clauses || 1 The term ‘demonstrative complexes’ here is used to refer to the Chinese term zhǐliàng duǎnyǔ 指量短語 (lit. demonstrative classifier(or measure word) phrases) in Liu (2005).
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in Tang (2005), where Tang argues that demonstratives (or demonstrative complexes) in (e-i) and (e-ii) are relativization markers as they are found in structures like (b) and (c). We are not in agreement with Tang, at least for the data from the Hui’an dialect. In §22.5.2, we focus on the encoding of the head noun in the main clause. In terms of the encoding of the head noun in the main clause, relative clauses are usually divided into headed and headless types. Citko (2004) identifies another type, i.e. light-headed relatives. In this section (§22.5.2), we point out that some of the zero-marked relative clauses in (e) above, more specifically, the types (i) and (ii), are light-headed relative clauses. Based on this, we give more examples of light-headed relatives in Hui’an, followed by examples of headed and headless relatives.
22.2.1 Attributive marker e2 其 As with Mandarin Chinese and other Chinese dialects, the attributive marker in Hui’an (i.e. e2 其, the counterpart of Mandarin de 的) can be used as a relativization marker. When functioning as a relativization marker, e2 is in neutral tone, i.e. e0. The relative clause construction with e0 typically indicates a general referent with its head noun encoded by a generic noun. This can be exemplified by (3) below. (3) 租 其 厝 tsɔ1 e0 tshu5 rent RM house ‘rented houses’ In (3), e0 functions as a relativization marker, and the bare noun tshu5 ‘house’ functions as the head noun. This example usually refers to a subset of houses (i.e. rented houses) in general, rather than a specific entity. In a certain context, however, the relative clause construction with e0 may refer to a specific entity, as in (4). (4) 口 是 𪜶 租 其 厝 2 4 1 1 tse si en tsɔ e0 tshu5 this be 3PL rent RM house ‘This is the house they rented.’
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Example (4) is a copular construction, in which the predicate is encoded by the relative clause construction en1 tsɔ1 e0 tshu5 ‘the house they rented’. In this example, the speaker is talking about a specific house that someone rented. In other words, the relative clause construction can refer here to a specific entity, rather than a subset of houses.
22.2.2 Demonstratives In this type of relative clause construction, the head noun consists of a demonstrative and a noun, in which the demonstrative simultaneously functions as a relativization marker, according to the criteria in Liu (2005). The structure is as follows: RC - [DEMRM + NP]HEAD. First of all, before treating this type in more depth, the five sets of nominal demonstratives used in Hui’an are given in the following table, reproduced from chapter 5. Tab. 22-1: Nominal demonstratives in the Hui’an dialect
1
Proximal
Distal
tsit7 即 (this)
hit7 迄 (that)
2
tsat (this one)
hat8 (that one)
3
tsuai2 撮 (these) (this)
huai2 懷 (those) (that)
4 5
8
2
tse (this kind of) (generic) 3-2 2
tsiɔŋ e 種其 (this kind of) (generic)
hǝ2 (that kind of) (generic) hiɔŋ3-2e2 向其 (that kind of) (generic)
The demonstratives tsit7 and hit7 require a classifier (or a measure word, sometimes also a numeral) to form demonstrative complexes (see the following section for their uses as a relativization marker). This section focuses on the other four sets of demonstratives, which can directly modify a noun, and function as a relativization marker, as illustrated by (5) – (7). (5) [VP + IO + DO]RC - [DEMRM + NP]HEAD 教 汝 語文 口 老師 ka5-3 lɯ3 gɯ3-2bun hat8-4 lau4sɯ1 teach 2SG Chinese that teacher ‘the teacher who teaches you Chinese’
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(6) a. [VP]RC - [DEMRM + NP]HEAD - VP [翕] [懷 相] 與 恁 爸仔 看 hiǝp7 huai2 siɔŋ5 khɔ5-4 len3-2 pa2-a0 khuã5 take those picture give 2PL father-NM look ‘Have your father look at the pictures that (you) took.’ b. VP - [DEM + NP]OBJECT 翕 懷 相 用 蠻儕 時間 hiǝp7-8 huai2 siɔŋ5 iŋ5-4 ban2-4tsue5-4 si2-4 kan1 take those picture use much time ‘It takes a lot of time to take those pictures.’ (7) a. [NP + VP]RC - [DEMRM + NP]HEAD [𪜶 買] [口 桌] 恰 貴 en1 bue3 hǝ2 toʔ7 khaʔ7-8 kui5 3PL buy that table comparatively expensive ‘The kind of table they bought is more expensive.’ b. NP - VP - [DEM + NP]OBJECT 𪜶 買 口 桌 真 闇 en1 bue3-2 hǝ2 toʔ7 tsen1 am1 3PL buy that table really stupid ‘They are really stupid to buy that kind of table.’ In (5), the relative clause ka5-3 lɯ3 gɯ3-2bun2 ‘teach you Chinese’ precedes the head noun hat8-4 lau4sɯ1 ‘that teacher’, which consists of the demonstrative hat8 ‘that’ and the bare noun lau4sɯ1 ‘teacher’. If the demonstrative hat8 is deleted, this example is no longer a relative clause construction, unless another relativization marker (e.g. the attributive marker e2) is added. In other words, the demonstrative hat8 here simultaneously functions as a relativization marker, as well as being part of the head noun. This is different from the attributive marker e2 in (3) and (4) above, which is used only as a relativization marker, but not as part of the head noun. The verb hiǝp7 followed by the noun phrase huai2 siɔŋ5 in example (6) also has two possible interpretations. In (6a), the noun phrase huai2 siɔŋ5 ‘those pictures’ serves as a head noun, following the relative clause encoded by the bare verb hiǝp7 ‘take’. When deleting the demonstrative huai2 ‘those’, hiǝp7-8 siɔŋ5 only expresses ‘take pictures’, but not ‘the pictures taken’, unless another relativization marker such as e2 其 is used. In other words, the demonstrative huai2 here,
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just like hat8 in (5), simultaneously functions as a relativization marker, besides being part of the head noun. In (6b), however, the noun phrase huai2 siɔŋ5 ‘those pictures’ functions as an object of the verb hiǝp7 ‘take’. Comparatively speaking, the first interpretation (i.e. as a relative clause construction) is more common. This can be supported by the fact that the utterance in (6a) is a real recorded example from our spoken data, while that in (6b) is elicited. One of the reasons is that the definite object of a verb in Hui’an tends to occur before the verb functioning as a topic. The difference between these two interpretations relies on the presence or absence of tone sandhi on the verb hiǝp7 ‘take’: the verb is realized in its citation tone in (6a), but realized in its sandhi tone in (6b) (see chapter 2). This difference in tone is also applicable to other similar constructions (see also §22.2.3 and §22.3.2). The verb bue3 followed by the noun phrase hǝ2 toʔ7 in example (7) also tends to be interpreted as a relative clause construction, as in (7a). The demonstrative hǝ2 ‘that kind of’ is a part of the head noun hǝ2 toʔ7 ‘that kind of table’, and simultaneously serves as a relativization marker. In contrast to this, the noun phrase hǝ2 toʔ7 functions as an object of the verb bue3 ‘buy’, as in (7b), shown by the tone sandhi in operation. The relative clause construction expresses different referential meanings according to the demonstrative used. For example, the relative clause construction refers to a specific entity (i.e. that teacher) in (5), plural entities (i.e. those pictures) in (6), and a category (i.e. that kind of table) in (7). In all these three examples, the relativization marker is encoded by a distal demonstrative. In fact, the distal demonstratives are more commonly used as a relativization marker than the proximal demonstratives, though the proximal ones are also possible, as illustrated by example (8), where the proximal demonstrative tsat8 ‘this’ constitutes part of the head noun tsat8-4 lau4sɯ1 ‘this teacher’ and simultaneously functions as a relativization marker. Note that proximal demonstratives (both singular and plural ones) as relativization markers are also attested in some other Chinese varieties such as Beijing Mandarin (cf. Liu 2005). (8) [VP + IO + DO]RC - [DEMRM + NP]HEAD 教 我 語文 口 老師 ka5-3 gua3 gɯ3-2bun2 tsat8-4 lau4sɯ1 teach 1SG Chinese this Teacher ‘the teacher who teaches me Chinese’
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In this type of relative clause construction (RC - [DEMRM + NP]HEAD), such as (5) – (8) above, the attributive marker e2 cannot be inserted between the relative clause and the head noun (see the following section for details).
22.2.3 Demonstrative complexes As mentioned above, demonstrative complexes in Hui’an can also simultaneously function as relativization markers. Two examples are given in (9) and (10). (9) a. [NP + VP]RC - [[DEM + CL]RM + NP] HEAD [汝 買] 迄本 冊 lɯ3 bue3 hit7-8-pun3-2 tsheʔ7 2SG buy that-CL book ‘that book you bought’ b. NP - [VP - [DEM + CL + NP]OBJECT] 汝 [買 迄本 冊] lɯ3 bue3-2 hit7-8-pun3-2 tsheʔ7 2SG buy that-CL book ‘You buy that book.’ (10) [NP + VP + O]RC - [[DEM + CL]RM + NP]HEAD 阮 下 電視 迄垛 桌 gun3 khe4 ten5-4si4 hit7-8-tǝ5-3 toʔ7 1PL put television that-CL table ‘that table where we put the television’ As with example (6) above, example (9) has two possible interpretations. In (9a), the noun phrase hit7-8pun3-2 tsheʔ7 ‘that book’ serves as a head noun, following the relative clause lɯ3 bue3 ‘you buy’. In (9b), the noun phrase hit7-8pun3-2 tsheʔ7 ‘that book’ functions as an object of the verb bue3 ‘buy’. In (10), the relative clause gun3 khe4 ten5-4si4 ‘we put the television’ precedes the head noun hit7-8tǝ5-3 toʔ7 ‘that table’. In both examples (9a) and (10), the demonstrative complexes (i.e. hit7-8pun3 and hit7-8tə5) constitute part of the head noun, and simultaneously function as a relativization marker. In the function of a relativization marker, the demonstrative in demonstrative complexes is typically a distal one, as in (9) and (10) above. However, we also find examples of the proximal demonstrative tsit7 即 ‘this’, as in (11).
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(11) A1: 伊 迄個 水空 伫咧 半中間 i1 hit7-8-e2-4 tsui3-2khaŋ1 tɯ4leʔ7-8 puã5-3-tiɔŋ1uin1 3SG that-CL drain be.at half-middle ‘That drain is in the middle.’ B: 汝 說 房 裡腹 迄個 lɯ3 sǝʔ7-8 paŋ2 lai4pak7 hit7-8-e2 2SG say room inside that-CL ‘Are you talking about that (drain) inside the room?’ A2:AUX - COP - [[VP]RC - [[DEM + CL]RM + NP]HEAD] - OM - VP 應該 是 洗身 即個 空 共 圍 (起來) iŋ1kai1 si4 sue3-2-sen1 tsit7-8-e2-4 khaŋ1 ka5-1 ui2 khai0 should be wash-body this-CL drain OM enclose RVC ‘This drain for taking a shower should be enclosed.’ In (11), speaker A is talking about a drain inside the room in A1, but addressee B is not sure which drain this is. Thus, in A2, speaker A uses a relative clause construction (i.e. sue3-2sen1 tsit7-8e2-4 khaŋ1 ‘this drain for taking a shower’) to make the referent identifiable. In this case, the proximal demonstrative complex tsit7-8e2 ‘this’ constitutes part of the head noun tsit7-8e2-4 khaŋ1 ‘this drain’, and is simultaneously used as a relativization marker. This example differs from the examples above in that the referent encoded by the relative clause construction has been mentioned in the previous discourse. We suggest that this is one reason why a proximal demonstrative (rather than a distal demonstrative) is used. Relative clause constructions in (9) – (11) all refer to a specific entity, that is, ‘that book’, ‘that table’ and ‘this drain’. These three examples involve two specific classifiers (pun3 and tǝ5) and the general classifier e2. The following is an example of the classifier tsiɔŋ3 種 ‘kind’. (12) [VP + O]RC - [[DEM + CL]RM + NP]HEAD 下 電腦 迄種 桌 khe4 ten5-4lo3 hit7-8-tsiɔŋ3-2 toʔ7 put computer that-kind table ‘that kind of table where we put a computer’ This example refers to a category, that is, ‘that kind of table’, rather than a specific entity. A numeral (> 1) can be inserted between the demonstrative and the classifier, as in (13) below. In this case, the relative clause construction refers to plural entities.
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(13) [VP + O]RC - [[DEM + NUM + CL]RM + NP]HEAD 今日 來 看 厝 即三個 儂 kiã1let8 lai2-4 khuã5-3 tshu5 tsit7-8-sã1-e2-4 laŋ2 today come look house this-three-CL person ‘these three persons who came to look at the apartment today’ In Mandarin Chinese, the relativization marker de 的 can be followed by a demonstrative (complex) as shown by (14) and (15) below. (14) [NP + VP + de RM]RC - [DEM + NP]HEAD 我們 住 的 那 胡同兒 wŏmen zhù de nà hútòngr 1PL live RM that alley ‘that alley we live in’ (15) [NP + VP + de RM]RC - [DEM + CL + NP]HEAD 我 看到 的 那 個 學生 wŏ kàn-dào de nà ge xuéshēng 1SG look-PVC RM that CL student ‘that student I saw’ In both these two examples, the relativization marker de and the demonstrative nà ‘that’ co-occur in the same string. In (14), the demonstrative nà constitutes a part of the head noun nà hútòngr ‘that alley’. In this case, the demonstrative nà does not function as a relativization marker, due to the presence of the common relativization marker de. Similarly, the demonstrative nà with the general classifier ge in (15) serves as a modifier of the noun xuéshēng ‘student’, and does not function as a relativization marker. Now, several questions arise. Can the relativization marker e2 in Hui’an, the counterpart of Mandarin de, also be followed by a demonstrative? Can relative clause constructions in Hui’an take the form of [[NP + VP + e2RM]RC - [DEM(+CL) + NP]HEAD], like Mandarin examples (14) and (15) above? If yes, is it the source of the relative clause construction marked by demonstratives or demonstrative complexes such as (5) – (13) in Hui’an, i.e. [[NP + VP + e2RM]RC - [DEM(+CL) + NP]HEAD] > [[NP + VP]RC - [[DEM(+CL)]RM + NP]HEAD]? Generally speaking, unlike Mandarin Chinese, the Hui’an dialect does not use such relative clause constructions as in (14) and (15), where the relativization marker de is followed by a noun phrase which consists of a demonstrative (complex) and a noun. In other words, in Hui’an, when the relative clause is marked
426 | Relative clauses
by the attributive marker e2 其, the head noun is not encoded by a demonstrative (complex) and a noun. As mentioned in §22.2.1 above, in this type of relative clause construction in Hui’an, the head noun is typically encoded by a bare noun expressing a generic meaning. When the head noun involves a demonstrative (complex) and a noun, such as (5) – (13), the demonstrative (complex) simultaneously functions as a relativization marker, and thus the relative clause construction does not require another marker such as the attributive e2. It would be unnatural to add an e2 before the demonstrative in (5) - (13). In fact, we do find examples of relative clause constructions in which the relativization marker e2 is followed by a demonstrative, as shown in (16) below. However, the demonstrative such as the plural demonstrative huai2 in (16) is itself used as the head noun, that is, it is not followed by a noun like those given in Mandarin Chinese in (14) and (15) (see also chapter 5 on demonstratives and their pronominal use). (16) [VP + e0RM]RC - DEMHEAD 扣 其 懷 khio5 e0 huai2 deduct RM those ‘those that were deducted’ In (16), e0 serves as a relativization marker, and the plural demonstrative huai2 alone functions as the head noun, rather than constitutes a part of the head noun. Such an example is actually not common in daily conversation. Typically, even when the head noun is encoded only by a demonstrative, the relativization marker e0 is not required. In other words, the relativization marker e0 in (16) can be deleted, that is, forming khio5 huai2, which can also express ‘those that were deducted’ (see also §22.5). Furthermore, this example was produced by a younger speaker, and thus may involve influence from the use of de in Mandarin Chinese. The emergence of such a type as in (16) may be due to the simple syntactic structure involved here. In this example, both the relative clause and the head noun are encoded by a monosyllabic word, i.e. khio5 ‘deduct’ and huai2 ‘those’, respectively, and the form without the marker e0 (i.e. khio5 huai2) involves two possible interpretations. In other words, the marker e0 here shows that a relative clause construction, rather than a verb-object construction, is involved.
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22.2.4 Classifiers In some Chinese varieties such as Wu and Yue, the claim has been made that classifiers can be used alone as relativization markers (see Matthews & Yip 2011; Liu 2005). In this section, we will provide arguments in favor of the very same use of classifiers in Hui’an. First, an example from Cantonese Yue is given in (17). (17) [[NP + VP]RC - [CLRM + NP]HEAD]NP - VP 我哋 喺 法國 食 啲 嘢 ngóhdeih hái Faatgwok sihk dī yéh we in France eat CL stuff 幾 好食 㗎 géi hóu-sihk ga quite good-eat SFP ‘The food we ate in France was pretty good.’ (Matthews & Yip 2011:329) In (17), the relative clause ngóhdeih hái Faatgwok sihk ‘we ate in France’ modifies the noun phrase dī yéh ‘the food’, in which the classifier dī can be regarded as a relativization marker. The Hui’an dialect can also use a classifier as a relativization marker, as in (18). (18) [[NP + VP]RC - [CLRM + NP]HEAD]NP - SFP 我 看 本 冊 咧 gua3 khuã5 pun3-2 tsheʔ7 leʔ0 1SG look CL book SFP ‘Where is the book I was reading?’ In (18), the relative clause gua3 khua͂ 5 ‘I read’ modifies the noun phrase pun3-2 tsheʔ7 ‘the book’, which consists of the classifier pun3 and the noun tsheʔ7 ‘book’. Semantically speaking, the classifier pun3 is used to express definite reference akin to English ‘the’ in the head noun ‘the book’. There is an audible pause between the verb khua͂ 5 ‘look’ and the classifier pun3, rather than between the classifier pun3 and the noun tsheʔ7 ‘book’. This is consistent with the fact that the verb khua͂ 5 does not undergo tone sandhi, whereas the classifier pun3 does clearly undergo tone sandhi. All these go to show that the classifier pun3 constitutes a part of the head noun pun3-2 tsheʔ7 ‘the book’. Like demonstratives (or demonstrative complexes) mentioned above, the classifier pun3 here can be regarded as simultaneously functioning as a relativization marker.
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This type of relative clause construction normally refers to a specific and singular entity. For example, the relative clause construction gua3 khua͂ 5 pun3-2 tsheʔ7 ‘the book I was reading’ in (18) refers to a specific book. Classifiers used as relativization markers generally code singular number in Hui’an. In addition, this type of relative clause construction is not common in daily conversation in Hui’an, unlike in other Chinese varieties such as Wu and Yue.
22.2.5 Zero-marked As mentioned above, in Hui’an, a relativization marker such as e2 is not required, when the head noun is encoded by a demonstrative, as in khio5 huai2 ‘those that were deducted’, where the verb khio5 ‘deduct’ and the demonstrative huai2 ‘those’ can be regarded as the relative clause and the head noun respectively, without a relativization marker. More examples are given in (19) and (20). (19) [VPRC - DEMHEAD]NP - VP (扌罪) 口 咧 五中 咧 教冊 tshǝ5 hat8 leʔ7-8 gɔ4-tiɔŋ1 leʔ7-8 ka5-3tsheʔ7 look.for that at five-middle.school HAB teach ‘The one that (she) found (as her spouse) is a teacher at No. 5 Middle School.’ (20) [VPRC - [DEM + CL]HEAD]NP - VP 恁 爸 掠 迄隻 加 珍 遘 len3-2 pa2 liaʔ8 hit7-8-tsiaʔ7 ke1 tin1 a3 2PL father catch that-CL more sweet EVC ‘That (duck) that your father took (home) is tastier (than this one).’ In (19), the relative clause construction tshǝ5 hat8 means ‘the one that (she) found (as her spouse)’. In this case, the bare verb tshǝ5 ‘look for’ functions as a relative clause, while the demonstrative hat8 ‘that’ serves as a head noun. In (20), len3-2 pa2 liaʔ8 hit7-8tsiaʔ7 is also a relative clause construction, literally meaning ‘that (duck) your father caught’. In this case, len3-2 pa2 liaʔ8 ‘your father caught’ functions as a relative clause, while the demonstrative complex hit7-8tsiaʔ7 ‘that one’ is used as a head noun. In both cases, the relative clause and the head noun are combined together without a relativization marker, and thus the relative clause can be regarded as a zero-marked one.
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In the following, we would like to explain why the relative clauses in (19) and (20) are regarded as zero-marked, and the demonstrative (or demonstrative-classifier phrase) is regarded as a head noun. First, it is not the case that the head noun has always to be a bare noun. Instead, the head noun is usually encoded by a noun phrase, as in (21) and (22), two examples from English. (21) Do you know the tall girl who is standing by the gate? (22) My relatives who came from France in the 19th century love pizza. In (21), the head noun is the tall girl, consisting of the determiner the, the adjective tall and the bare noun girl. In (22), my relatives, formed by the possessive determiner my and the plural bare noun relatives, function as a head noun. That the nominal demonstratives (and demonstrative complexes) in Hui’an can constitute a NP is shown by the fact that they are able to substitute for a noun (phrase), and thus can qualify as a head noun in a relative clause construction. This is different from attributive markers such as Mandarin de 的 and Hui’an e2 其. Unlike the demonstratives (or demonstrative complexes), these attributive markers can neither be used alone, for example, nor substitute for a noun (phrase) as an argument in, for example, a simple declarative sentence. They are bound forms. In fact, in certain other languages, demonstratives can be used alone as a head noun, as in (23), an example from English (see also §22.5). (23) Please send this message to those people who mean something to you, to those who have touched your life in one way or another. In (23), there are two relative clause constructions. In the first relative clause construction, the head noun is those people, consisting of the plural demonstrative those, and the bare noun people. In the second relative clause construction, the head noun is encoded by the plural demonstrative those, due to the omission of the bare noun people. In both cases, who functions as a relativization marker. Second, the demonstrative in this type of relative clause construction in Hui’an does not change or reduce its original grammatical meanings. For example, both the demonstrative hat8 in (19) and the demonstrative complex hit7-8tsiaʔ7 in (20) are still used to refer to a specific entity. When followed by a noun, the demonstrative (complex), due to the position in which it occurs, can be regarded as a relativization marker besides constituting a part of a head noun. However, when it is used alone as a pronominal demonstrative (that is, when it is an argument of the clause itself), the demonstrative (complex) is better regarded as a
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head noun, rather than as a relativization marker similar to Mandarin de 的 and Hui’an e0. Third, in terms of prosody, in this type of relative clause construction in Hui’an, there is an obvious pause between the relative clause and the demonstrative (complex), while the last word of the relative clause retains its citation tone, rather than undergoing tone sandhi. These show that the relative clause and the demonstrative (complex) can be regarded as two independent parts of the relative clause construction as a whole. The relativization marker e0 can nevertheless be regarded as a part of the relative clause, as shown by the fact that there is no obvious pause between the marker e0 and its preceding verb phrase or clause. Fourth, cross-linguistically speaking, other languages can be cited where the relative clause is clearly zero-marked, as in (24), an example from Japanese. (24) [watasi ga kinoo katta] bon I NOM yesterday bought book ‘the book I bought yesterday’ (Matsumoto 2007:132) Example (24) is a relative clause construction expressing ‘the book I bought yesterday’. In this example, watasi ga kinoo katta ‘I bought yesterday’ functions as a relative clause, while bon ‘book’ serves as a head noun. There is no a relativization marker such as English that/which, or Mandarin de. Thus, we tend to regard the two relative clause constructions in (19) and (20) in Hui’an as zero-marked relative clause constructions, in which the verb (or clause) functions as a relative clause, while the demonstrative (complex) functions as a head noun, but does not simultaneously serve as a relativization marker. In zero-marked relative clause constructions, the head noun can also be encoded by a common noun, as in (25), rather than a demonstrative (complex). (25) NP - [VPRC - NPHEAD]NP 家己 艱苦 家庭 出來 5-4 5 1 3-2 1 2 kai ki kan khɔ ke tiŋ tshut7lai0 self indigent family come.out ‘(He) himself is a poor child.’
囝仔 ken3-2a3 child
In (25), the reflexive pronoun kai5-4ki5 ‘oneself’ functions as a subject, while the relative clause construction kan1khɔ3-2 ke1tiŋ2 tshut7lai0 ken3-2a3 ‘the child that comes from a poor family’ functions as a predicate. In this relative clause construction, the head noun is encoded by the common noun ken3-2a3 ‘child’, and
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kan1khɔ3-2 ke1tiŋ2 tshut7lai0 ‘comes from a poor family’ serves as a relative clause modifying the head noun ken3-2a3. It is clear that there is no relativization marker between the relative clause and the head noun.
22.2.6 Interim summary In Hui’an, when a lexical head noun is present, the relativization marker can be encoded by the attributive marker e2, a demonstrative, a demonstrative complex (DEM-CL), or a classifier, among which the demonstrative, demonstrative complex or classifier constitute a part of the head noun, while simultaneously serving as a relativization marker. The relative clause construction marked by e0 typically expresses a generic meaning, and, in this type, the head noun is often encoded by a generic bare noun. The relative clause construction identified by the use of a demonstrative (complex) can refer to a specific entity, plural entities or a category of entity, according to the demonstrative or classifier used. In contrast to the demonstrative relative clause type, the construction identified by the presence of a classifier refers to a specific entity, which is typically singular. The relative clause in Hui’an can also be zero-marked, that is, the relative clause and the head noun are combined together without any kind of relativization marker. The zero-marked relative clause construction is relatively unrestricted in referring to a specific entity, plural entities, a category of entity, and can even express a generic meaning. In daily conversation, the relative clause constructions marked by a demonstrative (complex) and the zero-marked relative clause construction are very common, while those marked by e0 or a classifier alone are less common. In other words, the relative clause marked by a demonstrative (complex) and the zeromarked relative clause represent the basic relative clause types in Hui’an. This is somewhat different from certain other Chinese varieties as mentioned in §22.1 above. Unlike Tang (2005), the construction [relative clause + demonstrative (complex)] in Hui’an, as in (19) and (20) above, is regarded as a zero-marked relative clause construction in which the demonstrative (complex) alone functions as a head noun.
22.3 Position of the head noun There are three possibilities for the position of the head noun in relation to the relative clause: (a) head-initial, i.e. the relative clause follows the head noun; (b)
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head-final, i.e. the relative clause precedes the head noun; and (c) head-internal, i.e. the head noun is inside the relative clause. As mentioned above, typologically, SVO languages have a distinct preference to use the head-initial type of relative clause, i.e. [head noun + relative clause]. Chinese, however, tends to use headfinal type of relative clause, i.e. [relative clause + head noun]. This is also true of the Hui’an dialect. However, the head-initial type of relative clause can also be attested in daily conversation in Hui’an. In the following, we first examine headfinal and head-initial types of relative clauses (§22.3.1), and then discuss whether there is a head-internal type of relative clause in Hui’an (§22.3.2).
22.3.1 Head-final and head-initial types Relative clauses in Hui’an mainly belong to the head-final type, as in (26) and (27). (26) 趁 其 錢 than5 e0 tsin2 earn RM money ‘the money earned’ (27) 伊 傳 汝 懷 i1 tŋ2 lɯ0 huai2 3SG give 2SG those ‘those he gave you’ In (26), the relative clause than5 e0 precedes the head noun tsin2 ‘money’. In (27), the relative clause i1 tŋ2 lɯ0 ‘he gave you’ precedes the head noun huai2 ‘those’. Based on a study on naturally occurring spoken data, Fang (2004) found that head-initial type of relative clause can be attested in colloquial Northern Mandarin, which has a descriptive function and is used to provide new information. In other words, the head-initial type of relative clause discussed in Fang (2004) belongs to non-restrictive relative clauses. In Hui’an, however, we find examples of the restrictive head-initial type of relative clause, as in (28).
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(28) 阮 買 蜀 個 口 蜀 百 口 gun3 bue3-2 tsit8-4 e2-4 hǝ2 tsit8-4 paʔ7-8 khɔ1 1PL buy one CL that One hundred YUAN 會 燃火 煮菜 e4 liã2-4-hǝ3 tsɯ3-2-tshai5 can burn-fire cook-dish ‘We bought one (utensil) that costs one hundred and can be used for cooking.’ (lit. we buy one that kind (of utensil) (which) cost one hundred can cook) In (28), the speaker is introducing a utensil they bought, which is mentioned for the first time. In other words, the addressee does not know anything about the utensil. The demonstrative hǝ2 functions as a head noun, referring to the utensil, and the following relative clause tsit8-4 paʔ7-8 khɔ1 e4 liã2-4 hǝ3 tsɯ3-2 tshai5 ‘one hundred and can be used for cooking’ is used to help the addressee identify what type of utensil the speaker is talking about. In other words, this is a restrictive headinitial type of relative clause, rather than a non-restrictive one. In this example, the relative clause is somewhat complicated, which may be one reason why a head-initial type of relative clause is chosen. The following are two examples where a demonstrative and e0 其 co-occur in the same string. (29) 儂 口 新 工作 其 4 2 1 1 7 laŋ hǝ sen kaŋ tsɔk e0 other that new work NMLZ ‘people who just started working’ (30) 儂 口 西裝 規身 其 laŋ4 hǝ2 se1tsɔŋ1 kui1-sen1 e0 other that business.suit whole-body NMLZ ‘the entire set of a suit’ (lit. other that the suit complete) In Hui’an, when followed by a noun (phrase), the pronoun laŋ4 ‘other’ can be interpreted as being coreferential with the following noun (phrase) (see §4.5). In (29), the noun phrase hǝ2 sen1 kaŋ1tsɔk7 e0 ‘people who just started working’ is a relative clause construction, in which the demonstrative hǝ2 functions as a head noun. In this case, the relative clause sen1 kaŋ1tsɔk7 e0, encoded by the verb phrase sen1 kaŋ1tsɔk7 ‘just start working’ and the relativization marker e0, is used to help the addressee identify which type of people the speaker is talking about. In (30),
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the noun phrase hǝ2 se1tsɔŋ1 kui1sen1 e0 ‘the entire set of a suit’, literally meaning ‘the suit which is complete’, is also a relative clause construction, in which the head noun is encoded by the noun phrase hǝ2 se1tsɔŋ1 ‘the suit’. In this case, the relative clause kui1sen1 e0 is used to help identify that the speaker is talking about the entire set of garments that make up a suit, rather than just the upper garment. Both (29) and (30) are examples of the restrictive head-initial type of relative clause. In this type of relative clause, the head noun can also be encoded by a demonstrative complex, as in (31). (31) 汝 口褲 著 去 穿 迄領 黃色 其 3 3-2 5 8-4 5-3 5-4 7-8 3-2 2-4 7 lɯ khau khɔ tioʔ khɯ tshiŋ hit -liã ŋ siak e0 2SG trouser should go wear that-CL yellow NMLZ ‘As for the trouser, you should wear the one that is yellow.’ In Hui’an, in order to express ‘those yellow trousers’, people often use the headfinal type of relative clause construction ŋ2-4siak7 hit7-8lia͂ 3(-2khau3-2khɔ5), in which ŋ2-4siak7 ‘yellow’ functions as a relative clause, and the demonstrative complex hit7-8lia͂ 3 ‘that piece’ (derived from the noun phrase hit7-8lia͂ 3-2 khau3-2khɔ5 ‘those trousers’) serves as a head noun. In (31), however, hit7-8lia͂ 3-2 ŋ2-4siak7 e0 constitutes a head-initial type of relative clause construction, in which the demonstrative complex hit7-8lia͂ 3 serves as a head noun, and the clause ŋ2-4siak7 e0 is a relative clause modifying the head noun hit7-8lia͂ 3. In this case, ‘those trousers which are yellow’ is mentioned for the first time, and the relative clause ŋ2-4siak7 e0 is used to help the addressee identify the entity. In examples (28) – (31) above, the demonstrative hǝ2 and the demonstrative complex hit7-8lia͂ 3 either function as a head noun, or function as a part of the head noun. In the following example, however, the first occurrence of the demonstrative hǝ2 may function like the English relative pronoun that. (32) (a) NP - [DEMHEAD - [VP + e0]RC]NP or (b) NPHEAD - [DEMRP + VP + e0]RC 有其 儂 口 (扌罪) 口 別搭 儂 其 u4e0 laŋ2 hǝ2 tshǝ5-4 hǝ2 pat8-4-taʔ7-8 laŋ2 e0 some person that look.for that other-LOC person RM ‘some people whose partner comes from another place’ (lit. (a) some people, that kind (of person) (who) look for other.place people; (b) some people that look for other.place people)
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Example (32) is used to refer to a type of person, i.e. the person whose partner comes from another place. This example has two possible interpretations. Firstly, it can be interpreted as an appositive construction consisting of two noun phrases: the initial noun phrase u4e0 laŋ2 ‘some people’ and the subsequent noun phrase hǝ2 tshǝ5-4 hǝ2 pat8-4taʔ7-8 laŋ2 e0 ‘those (i.e. the people) whose partner comes from another place’. The second noun phrase is by itself a relative clause construction, in which the first demonstrative hǝ2 functions as the head noun, referring to ‘the people’, while tshǝ5-4 hǝ2 pat8-4taʔ7-8 laŋ2 e0, literally meaning ‘look for people that come from another place’ serves as a relative clause. Secondly, the whole utterance can be regarded as a relative clause construction. In this case, u4e0 laŋ2 ‘some people’ functions as a head noun, while hǝ2 tshǝ5-4 hǝ2 pat8-4taʔ7-8 laŋ2 e0, literally meaning ‘that (=relative pronoun) look for a partner that comes from another place’, serves as a relative clause, in which the first demonstrative hǝ2 functions like the English relative pronoun that. No matter which interpretation, the type of person referred to by example (32) is mentioned for the first time in the given context, and thus the head-initial type of relative clause construction, in both cases is used to help the addressee identify the type of person that the speaker is talking about.
22.3.2 Is there a head-internal type? The head-internal type is a form of relative clause which presents a domain noun internal to the relative clause and is thus syntactically headless (Keenan 1985:161). The following are examples of internally headed relative clauses and headed relative clauses in Ancash Quechua from Cole (1987:279). (33) a. Headed Relative Clause [NP [S nuna 1i ranti-shqa-n] bestyai] allli man buy-PERFECT-3 horse(NOM) good bestya-m ka-rqo-n horse-EVIDENTIAL be-PAST-3 The horse the man bought was a good horse.
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b. Internally Headed Relative Clause [NP nuna bestya-ta ranti-shqa-n] alli man horse-ACC buy-PERFECT-3 good bestya-m ka-rqo-n horse-EVIDENTIAL be-PAST-3 The horse the man bought was a good horse. As Basilico (1996:499) points out, the difference between these two examples above is that “in the externally headed relative clause, the noun bestya ‘horse’ is not a constituent of the clause nuna ranti-shaq-n ‘that the man bought’, while in the internally headed relative clause, the noun is a constituent of the clause”. Matthews and Yip (2007) propose that the object classifier relative in Cantonese has two possible analyses: head-final type and head-internal type, as shown in (34). (34) a. Head-final [[keoi maai S] go cang lau NP] hou leng 3SG buy that CL flat very nice ‘The flat she’s buying is really nice.’ b. Head-internal [S/NP keoi maai go cang lau] hou leng 3SG buy that CL flat very nice ‘The flat she’s buying is really nice.’ In (34a), the noun phrase go cang lau ‘the flat’ functions as a head noun, following the relative clause keoi maai ‘she is buying’. In this case, the head noun go cang lau is not regarded as a constitutent of the relative clause keoi maai. In (34b), however, the head noun go cang lau is regarded as a constituent of the clause keoi maai go cang lau ‘she is buying the flat’. As mentioned by Matthews & Yip (2007), however, it is not easy to distinguish the head-internal type from head-final type of relative clause in Cantonese. As with Cantonese, classifier relatives can also be found in the Jieyang variety of Southern Min. However, the object classifier relative in Jieyang can be shown to belong to the head-final type. This is illustrated by example (35) from Xu (2007:118).
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(35) [[ku55-11-ni55 ua53 poi53S] t’au213-53 ts’u213NP] hoʔ2 tua11 last-year 1SG buy CL house very big The house which I bought last year is very big. The tone of the verb poi53 ‘buy’ must be a sandhi tone when followed by an object t’au213-53 ts’u213 ‘house’. In (35), however, poi53 does not undergo tone sandhi, which suggests that t’au213-53 ts’u213 is not a constituent of the clause ku55-11ni55 ua53 poi53 ‘I bought last year’, as it would be under the head-internal analysis in (34b). Now, let’s look at the relative clause in Hui’an. In fact, similar structures in Hui’an are also clearly of the head-final type, like the Jieyang variety. This can be illustrated by a comparison between (36) and (37) below. (36) 我 借 迄本 冊 gua3 tsioʔ7-8 hit7-8-pun3-2 tsheʔ7 1SG borrow that-CL book ‘I borrowed that book.’ (37) [[我 借 S] 迄本 冊 NP] 野 好看 gua3 tsioʔ7 hit7-8-pun3-2 tsheʔ7 ia3-2 ho3-2-khuã5 1SG borrow that-CL book quite good-look ‘That book I borrowed is quite good.’ In the main clause of (36), hit7-8pun3-2 tsheʔ7 ‘that book’ is an object of the verb tsioʔ7 ‘borrow’, and the verb undergoes tone sandhi accordingly. While in the object relative clause (37), tsioʔ7 does not undergo tone sandhi, which indicates that hit7-8pun3-2 tsheʔ7 is not a constituent of the clause gua3 tsioʔ7 ‘I borrowed’. Instead, the citation tone of tsioʔ7 indicates a prosodic boundary at the end of the relative clause. Thus, we can conclude that (37) is an example of head-final type, and we have no evidence for a head-internal type of relative clause in Hui’an.
22.3.3 Interim summary As with Mandarin Chinese, the Hui’an dialect tends to use the head-final type of relative clause. In daily conversation, however, we also find examples of the restrictive head-initial type of relative clause. In the head-initial type, the head noun is often encoded by the demonstrative hǝ2 (expressing a generic meaning), a noun phrase (consisting of the demonstrative hǝ2 and a noun), or a demonstrative complex. In this type of relative clause, the demonstrative hǝ2 seems to have
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developed a function like the English relative pronoun that. In Hui’an, we have not yet found typical examples of the head-internal type of relative clause. The object relative clause in Cantonese may be interpreted as a head-final or headinternal type of relative clause, while similar structures in Hui’an belong to the head-final type.
22.4 The role and encoding of the head noun in the relative clause As mentioned above, the relative clause, as syntactically defined in earlier studies, requires the head noun being coreferential with an argument in the relative clause, and for this reason is termed ‘argument relative clause’. In their study on Mandarin relative clauses, Cheng & Sybesma (2005) mention another two types of relative clause: (a) adjunct relative clauses: the head noun takes an adjunct position in the relative clause; and (b) aboutness relative clauses: the head noun takes neither an argument nor a typical adjunct position in the relative clause, but involves the ‘aboutness’ semantics with the relative clause. In other words, according to the role of the head noun in the relative clause, relative clauses can be classified into three types: argument relative clauses, adjunct relative clauses and aboutness relative clauses. Examples from Mandarin Chinese are given in (38) – (40) (cf. Cheng & Sybesma 2005:69-70). (38) 他 剛 買 的 房子 (argument relative clause) tā gāng mǎi de fángzi 3SG just buy DE house ‘the house he just bought’ (39) 他 修 車 的 車庫 (adjunct relative clause) tā xiū chē de chēkù 3SG fix car DE garage ‘the garage where he fixes his car’ (40) 他 唱 歌 的 聲音 (aboutness relative clause) tā chàng gē de shēngyīn 3SG sing song DE voice ‘the voice that he has while singing’ In (38), the head noun fángzi ‘house’ is coreferential with the understood direct object of the main verb mǎi ‘buy’ in the relative clause. Previous studies suggest
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that there is a syntactic gap after the verb mǎi where the direct object would occur in a declarative sentence. In contrast to this, in (39), the main verb xiū ‘fix’ in the relative clause is a transitive verb, with two arguments, i.e. tā ‘he’ and chē ‘car’. The head noun chēkù ‘garage’ can be regarded as having the role of a locative adjunct with respect to its use in a declarative, rather than an argument of the verb xiū. In (40), the head noun shēngyīn ‘voice’ functions neither as an argument nor as a typical adjunct that expresses location, time or reason. In this case, shēngyīn ‘voice’ is a concept that only involves the aboutness semantics with ‘singing’ in the cognitive framework of the main verb chàng gē ‘sing’ (a similar interpretation can also be found in Tang (2005)). Traditional relative clauses typically refer to argument relative clauses. This has likely been determined by the characteristics of relative clauses in European languages such as English. In European languages, the head noun is extracted from an argument position of the main clause, and, as a consequence, the identification of which constituents can be relativized is essentially syntactically constrained: different NP positions show different degrees of relativizability. Based on this, Keenan and Comrie (1977) put forward the ‘Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy’, as shown in (41). (41) SU > DO > IO > OBL > GEN > OCOMP This hierarchy expresses the relative accessibility to relativization of NP positions in simplex main clauses: it predicts that the possibility of relativizing decreases when moving to the right along the accessibility hierarchy. In some other languages such as Japanese, it seems that there are no syntactic constraints on the relation between the head noun and the covert coreferential noun in the subordinate clause: the acceptability of relations between the head noun and the coreferential noun in the subordinate clause is determined by pragmatic factors, that is, according to whether a native speaker can establish a plausible relation (Comrie 1996). Thus, many non-traditional relative clauses can be attested in Japanese, as in (42). (42) [[tabeta] nokori], reezooko ni ireta? ate remainder refrigerator LOC put.in Did (you) put the remainder of (your) eating in a refrigerator?’ (Matsumoto 2007:133) In (42), the clause encoded by the verb tabeta ‘eat’ functions as a relative clause modifying the noun nokori ‘remainder’ to express ‘what is remaining’. In this case,
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the noun nokori is neither an argument of the verb tabeta, nor its adjunct. In addition, there is no traditional syntactic gap in the relative clause that can be coreferential with the noun nokori. In other words, this example can be regarded as an instance of aboutness relative clauses, as mentioned at the beginning of this section. Note that the head noun nokori (also the relative clause construction tabeta nokori) is the direct object of the verb ireta ‘put in’. Similar phenomena are also attested in many other languages in Asia such as Korean, Mandarin and some other Sino-Tibetan languages (Comrie 1996). In other words, both adjuncts and aboutness relative clauses are not peculiar to Mandarin, as illustrated by Mandarin examples (39) and (40) above, but probably reflect an areal feature. What is the case in Hui’an? Can argument, adjunct and aboutness relative clauses all be attested in Hui’an? Do relative clauses in Hui’an show some distinct features, compared with those in Mandarin? Generally speaking, all three types of relative clause can be attested in Hui’an, and we also find examples of ‘aboutness’ relative clauses that are different from those given in Cheng & Sybesma (2005). In the following, we will examine these three types one by one. In this section, we also examine the encoding of the head noun in the relative clause. The ways in which the head noun is encoded in the relative clause are also called relativization strategies. Keenan (1985) and Comrie (1989) both recognize that there are at least four different relativization strategies, according to the following syntactic features: (i) gapping or obliteration; (ii) pronoun-retention; (iii) relative-pronoun; and (iv) non-reduction. However, the issue of whether there is a ‘gap’ in the relative clause in languages such as Japanese, Korean and Mandarin remains controversial. Comrie (1996) suggests that ‘aboutness’ relative clauses are gapless, and argument relative clauses in languages such as Japanese are also gapless since these languages have a high use of zero anaphora. For practical reasons, we maintain the use of the term ‘gap’. Thus, for ease of presentation, we use ‘relative clauses with a resumptive pronoun’ and ‘relative clauses with a gap’ to refer to those using a ‘pronoun-retention’ strategy and those without any resumptive pronoun, respectively. This enables us to classify the relative clause in Hui’an as follows. (i) A. argument relative clauses (a) argument relative clauses with a gap (b) argument relative clauses with a resumptive pronoun B. adjunct relative clauses (a) adjunct relative clauses with a gap (b) adjunct relative clauses with a resumptive pronoun C. ‘aboutness’ relative clauses
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22.4.1 Argument relative clauses In Hui’an, argument relative clauses are usually subject relative clauses, direct object relative clauses or indirect object relative clauses. In other words, the head noun functions as a subject or direct object, or an indirect object, in argument relative clauses. When the head noun is the subject, as in (43), or direct object of the relative clause, as in (44), the ‘gap’ strategy is used. (43) [[ ] + VP + e0 其 RM]RC - NPHEAD 無 讀冊 其 儂 bo2-4 thak8-4tsheʔ7 e0 laŋ2 not.have study RM person ‘people who have not studied’ (44) [NP + VP + [ ] + e0 其 RM]RC - NPHEAD 伊 看 其 冊 i1 khuã5 e0 tsheʔ7 3SG look RM Book ‘the books he read’ In (43), the head noun laŋ2 ‘person’ is the subject in the relative clause bo2-4 thak8tsheʔ7 ‘have not studied’. In (44), the head noun tsheʔ7 ‘book’ is the object in the relative clause i1 khuã5 ‘he reads’. We do not see any resumptive pronoun bound to the head noun in the relative clause in either (43) or (44), both of which belong to the general type using the marker e0. The ‘pronoun-retention’ strategy has to be used when the head noun functions as an indirect object in the relative clause. This is exemplified by (45) below. 4
(45) 我 送 伊 賀卡 迄個 老師 gua3 saŋ5-3 i1 ho5-4kha3 hit7-8-e2-4 lau4sɯ1 1SG send 3SG card that-CL teacher ‘that teacher to whom I sent a card’ In (45), the head noun hit7-8e2-4 lau4sɯ1 ‘that teacher’ is co-referential with the indirect object in the relative clause, i.e. the third-person singular pronoun i1. As evident from the examples above, the indirect object in Hui’an shows lower accessibility to relativization than the subject and direct object due to the required presence of a resumptive pronoun in the relative clause in (45). This is entirely compatible with the Noun Phrase Accessibility Hierarchy put forward by
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Keenan & Comrie (1977), where the indirect object is located at a lower position than either the subject or the direct object.
22.4.2 Adjunct relative clauses When the head noun serves an adjunct function to express concepts in the domains of time, location, instrument or possessor in the relative clause, the ‘gap’ strategy can also be used. The following are relative clauses that have temporal and locative head nouns. (46) 伊 倒來 迄日 i1 to5lai0 hit7-8-let8 3SG come.back that-day ‘the day he came back’ (47) 阮 昨日 買 衫褲 迄間 gun3 tsa4let8 bue3-2 sa͂ 1khɔ5 hit7-8-kuin1 1PL yesterday buy clothes that-CL ‘the shop where we bought clothes yesterday’
店 tuin5 shop
In (46), the verb to5lai0 ‘come back’ in the relative clause is an intransitive verb, requiring only an agentive argument. The head noun hit7-8let8 ‘that day’ would function as a temporal adjunct in the corresponding declarative clause, rather than as an obligatory constituent. In (47), the verb bue3 ‘buy’ in the relative clause is transitive, requiring two arguments, that is, the subject gun3 ‘we’ and the object sa͂ 1khɔ5 ‘clothes’ in the relative clause. The head noun hit7-8kuin1 tuin5 ‘that shop’, however, functions as a locative adjunct in the related declarative clause. When the head noun functions as another type of adjunct such as the standard of comparison or the comitative in a relative clause, a resumptive pronoun is typically required after the preposition in the relative clause, as in (48) and (49). (48) 阮 媽 比 伊 恰 大 迄孤 女其 gun3-2 bã2 pi3-2 i1 khaʔ7-8 tua5 hit7-8-kɔ1 lu3-e0 1PL mother DMC 3SG HMC big that-CL female-NMLZ ‘that woman whom my mother is older than’
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(49) 我 合 伊 去 看 電影 迄孤 gua3 kaʔ7-8 i1 khɯ5-3 khuã5-3 ten5-4ia͂ 3 hit7-8-kɔ1 1SG COMT 3SG go look film that-CL ‘that person with whom I went to the cinema’
儂 laŋ2 person
In (48), the head noun hit7-8kɔ1 lu3 e0 ‘that woman’ is co-referential with the standard of comparison in the relative clause, i.e. i1 ‘her’. In (49), the head noun hit78 kɔ1 laŋ2 ‘that person’ is co-referential with the comitative i1 ‘him’ in the relative clause. In these two examples, the resumptive pronoun i1 occurs after the prepositions pi3 ‘compare’ and kaʔ7 ‘with’.
22.4.3 ‘aboutness’ relative clauses In the Mandarin examples of ‘aboutness’ relative clauses given in Cheng & Sybesma (2005), the head noun is encoded by a bare noun, such as shēngyīn 聲 音 ‘voice’ in (40) above. Similar examples are also found in Hui’an, as in (50) with the general relative clause construction. (50) 見面 其 時間 恰 少 kin5-3ben5 e0 si2-4kan1 khaʔ7-8 tsio3 meet RM time comparatively little ‘The time for meeting (each other) is less (than before).’ In (50), the head noun is encoded by the bare noun si2-4kan1 ‘time’. This head noun is neither an argument of the verb kin5-3ben5 ‘meet’ in the relative clause, nor a temporal adjunct. Rather, it can only be regarded as a concept that expresses ‘aboutness’ semantics with the verb kin5-3ben5 in the cognitive framework of the verb. In Hui’an, the head noun of the ‘aboutness’ relative clause construction can also be a noun phrase referring to a specific entity, as in the relative clause of (51). (51) 汝 買 機票 迄孤 男其 lɯ3 bue3-2 ki1phio5 hit7-8-kɔ1 lam2-e0 2SG buy air.ticket that-CL male-NMLZ ‘the man whom (we met when) you bought your plane ticket’ In (51), people are talking about a man whom they come across when the speaker accompanies the addressee to buy a plane ticket. In this case, the head noun hit7-
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kɔ1 lam2 e0 ‘the man’ functions neither as an argument of the verb bue3 ‘buy’ nor as an adjunct in the relative clause, and, as such, the correct interpretation requires the shared experience of the speaker and the addressee. As with argument relative clauses marked by a demonstrative complex, the aboutness relative clause in (51) is also used to help identify a specific entity, i.e. a specific person. The following is another example of an ‘aboutness’ relative clause with the general marker e0. 8
(52) 口 是 阮 厝裡 看 出去 其 早上 khuã5 tshut0khɯ0 e0 tsai3-2i3 tse2 si4 gun3 tshu5-3-lai4 this be 1PL house-inside look go.out RM morning ‘This is (a view of) morning (when we) look towards the outside from our house.’ In (52), the head noun tsai3-2i3 ‘morning’ is neither an argument of the verb khuã5 ‘look’, nor a temporal adjunct. In this case, the speaker is introducing a picture, and the relative clause is used to indicate that this is a view of the morning when looking outside from the house of the speaker, rather than a view of morning from the vantage point of other places. In other words, the relative clause is used to help identify a view of the morning in a certain place shown by the picture.
22.5 The role and encoding of the head noun in the main clause 22.5.1 The role of the head noun in the main clause In Hui’an, the head noun of the relative clause mainly functions as topic, subject, object and predicate nominal2 in the main clause. Examples of topic and subject are given in (53) and (54), respectively.
|| 2 ‘Predicate nominal’ is put forward by Fox & Thompson (1990:298) who show that the role of the head noun in the main clause can be subject, object, prepositional phrase object, predicate nominal and existential.
The role and encoding of the head noun in the main clause | 445
(53) 翕 懷 相 與 恁 爸仔 看 hiǝp7 huai2 siɔŋ5 khɔ5-4 len3-2 pa2-a0 khuã5 take those picture give 2PL father-NM look ‘Those pictures you took, let your father have a look at them. ’ (54) 伊 趁 其 錢 野 少 i1 than5 e0 tsin2 ia3-2 tsio3 3SG earn RM money quite little ‘The money he earns is not much.’ The head noun huai2 siɔŋ5 ‘those pictures’ in (53) functions as a topic in the main clause, while the head noun tsin2 ‘money’ in (54) serves as a subject in the main clause. The following are examples of object and predicate nominal, respectively. (55) 看 𪜶 翕 其 相 khuã5-3 en1 hiǝp7 e0 siɔŋ5 look 3PL snap RM picture ‘Look at the pictures they took.’ (56) 即領 是 頂 禮拜 買 迄領 tsit7-8-liã3 si4 tiŋ3-2 le3-2pai5 bue3 hit7-8-lia͂ 3 this-CL be up week buy that-CL ‘These (clothes) are those bought last week.’ In (55), the head noun siɔŋ5 ‘picture’ functions as an object of the verb khuã5 ‘look’ in the main clause. In (56), the head noun hit7-8lia͂ 3 ‘that piece’ functions as a predicate nominal of the copular verb si4 in the main clause.
22.5.2 The encoding of the head noun in the main clause According to the encoding of the head noun in the main clause, relative clauses are usually divided into headed and headless types. Citko (2004), however, proposes another type of relative clause, i.e. light-headed relatives. In Citko (2004:95), the terms ‘headed’ and ‘headless’ are used to refer to relatives ‘involving an external nominal head’, and those ‘lacking an overt nominal head’, respectively; the term ‘light-headed’ refers to relatives which are “headed by morphologically ‘light’ elements”. These ‘light’ elements can be demonstratives,
446 | Relative clauses
indefinites, negative indefinites and universals such as ‘everything’. The following is an example of the demonstrative light head in Polish from Citko (2004:96). (57) Jan czyta to, co Maria czyta. Jan reads this what Maria reads ‘John reads what Maria reads.’ The Hui’an examples of relative clause given above involve different types of head noun. In the section on relativization markers (§22.2), we briefly described relative clause constructions with a demonstrative (complex) as the head noun. In Hui’an, the light-headed type is in fact mainly encoded by the demonstrative and the [DEM (+NUM) + CL] complex. More examples are given in (58) – (60). (58) RC - DEMHEAD 汝 買 懷 無算 貴 3 3 2 2-4 5-3 lɯ bue huai bo -sŋ kui5 2SG buy those not.have-count expensive ‘Those you bought are not expensive.’ (59) RC - [DEM + NUM + CL]HEAD 汝 攑 迄兩垛 lɯ3 kia2 hit7-8-lŋ4-tǝ5 2SG take that-two-CL ‘two (chairs) that you took’ (60) RC - [DEM + CL]HEAD 恁 爸 掠 迄隻 3-2 2 8 len pa liaʔ hit7-8-tsiaʔ7 2PL father catch that-CL ‘that (duck) that your father took (home)’ In (58), the head noun is encoded by the plural demonstrative huai2 ‘those’. In (59), the head noun hit7-8lŋ4tǝ5 ‘two (chairs)’ is formed by a demonstrative, a numeral and a classifier. In (60), the head noun is encoded by the demonstrative complex hit7-8tsiaʔ7 ‘that (one)’, which consists of the demonstrative hit7 ‘that’ and the classifier tsiaʔ7. All these three examples can thus be considered as lightheaded relative clause constructions. Examples of headed and head-less relatives are given in (61) and (62), respectively.
Summary | 447
(61) 今日 買 迄領 衫 kia͂ 1let8 bue3 hit7-8-lia͂ 3-2 sa͂ 1 today buy that-CL clothes ‘the clothes/clothing bought today’ (62) 阮 厝裡 剩 其 伊 gun3 tshu5-3-lai4 tshun5 e0 i1 1PL house-inside leave RM 3SG ‘He never eats the leftovers at home.’
從來 呣 食 tsiɔŋ4lai2 m5-4 tsiaʔ8 always not eat
In (61), the head noun is encoded by the noun phrase hit7-8lia͂ 3-2 sa͂ 1 ‘the clothing’. By way of contrast, in the relative clause construction gun3 tshu5-3-lai4 tshun5 e0 ‘the leftovers at home’ in (62), the head noun is covert.
22.6 Summary In this chapter, we have examined the restrictive relative clause based on four parameters: (a) the relativization marker used; (b) the position of the head noun in relation to the restricting clause; (c) the role and encoding of the head noun in the restricting clause; and (d) the role and encoding of the head noun in the main clause. The relativization marker in Hui’an can be the attributive marker e2, a demonstrative, a demonstrative complex, or a classifier, among which, the attributive marker e2 functions only as a relativization marker, whereas the demonstrative, demonstrative complex or classifier all constitute part of the head noun while simultaneously serving as relativization markers when there is an overt lexical head noun. The relative clause construction marked by e0 typically expresses a generic meaning, and the head noun is often encoded by a generic bare noun. The relative clause construction identified by the use of a demonstrative (complex) can refer to a specific entity, plural entities or a category of entity, according to the demonstrative or classifier used. The construction identified by the presence of a classifier only refers to a specific entity which is typically singular. Their structures are: [VP + e2 其 RM]RC - NPHEAD RC - [DEMRM + NP]HEAD RC - [[DEM + CL]RM + NP]HEAD RC - [CLRM + NP]HEAD
448 | Relative clauses
The relative clause can also be zero-marked, that is, the relative clause and the head noun are juxtaposed together without any relativization marker. The zeromarked relative clause construction is relatively unrestricted in referring to a specific entity, plural entities, a category of entity, and may even express a generic meaning. Distinct from the overtly marked ones above, the three main structures are the following: RC - DEMHEAD RC - [DEM + CL]HEAD RC - COMMON NOUNHEAD Comparatively speaking, relative clauses marked by demonstratives (or demonstrative complexes) and zero-marked relative clauses are more common than the other types. As with Mandarin Chinese, the relative clause in Hui’an mainly belongs to the head-final type, however, the head-initial type can also be used. There is, however, no evidence for any head-internal type of relative clause. According to the role of the head noun in the relative clause, relative clauses can be classified into three types: argument relative clauses, adjunct relative clauses and ‘aboutness’ relative clauses. The ‘gap’ strategy is used when the head noun serves as an argument such as subject and object or as an adjunct for the temporal, locative, causal, instrumental and agentive domains in the relative clause. The ‘pronoun-retention’ strategy has to be used when the head noun functions as an indirect object or the object of a preposition in the relative clause, coding the comitative or the comparative, for example. The head noun of the relative clause mainly functions as a topic, subject, object and predicate nominal in the main clause. According to the encoding of the head noun in the main clause, relative clauses can be divided into headed relatives, headless relatives and light-headed relatives. The light-headed type is mainly encoded by the demonstrative and the [DEM (+NUM) + CL] complex.
23 Adverbial clauses 23.1 Introduction Adverbial clauses are subordinate clauses that function as modifiers of verb phrases or entire clauses (cf. Thompson, Longacre & Hwang 2007; Longacre 2007, inter alia). An adverbial clause modifies the matrix clause in a similar way to those where an adverb modifies a predicate. In some European languages such as English, adverbial clauses are marked by subordinating morphemes. For example, English subordinating conjunctions before, where, and if can be used to mark a temporal, locative and conditional adverbial clause, respectively. Similar semantic relations (except conditionals) in Hui’an, however, tend not to be marked by subordinating conjunctions. Comparatively speaking, the Hui’an dialect tends to juxtapose the clauses, with the semantic relation between the clauses inferred, or else an adverb is used in the main clause to mark the semantic relation between the clauses. Other forms are also attested, as will be shown in the following sections. In this chapter, we focus on how the equivalents to adverbial clauses in European languages such as English would be encoded in Hui’an.
23.2 Time clauses In Hui’an, time clauses can be zero-marked, in the sense that no overt forms (such as the English conjunction when) are used, as in (1) and (2). (1)
Time clause + Matrix clause 讀 蜀 年, 去 下鄉 thak8 tsit8-4 lin2 khɯ5-3 ha4hiɔŋ1 study one year go go.to.countryside ‘I went to the countryside, after studying for a year.’
(2) Time clause + Matrix clause 下日 (扌罪) 工作, 著 懷 證書 e4let8 tshǝ5-4 kaŋ1tsɔk7 tioʔ8-4 huai2 tsiŋ5-3tsɯ1 future look.for job need those certificate ‘(You) need those certificates, when (you) look for a job in the future.’ The two verb phrases in (1) describe two events that happen in succession. More specifically, the event encoded by khɯ5-3 ha4hiɔŋ1 ‘go to the countryside’ happens https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-023
450 | Adverbial clauses
after the event encoded by thak8 tsit8-4lin2 ‘study for a year’. These two verb phrases are juxtaposed together, without any marker indicating the temporal sequence relationship between two events, apart from their order. In terms of meaning, the first clause in (2), e4let8 tshǝ5-4 kaŋ1tsɔk7 ‘look for a job in the future’, denotes the time when the event encoded by tioʔ8-4 huai2 tsiŋ5-3tsɯ1 ‘need those certificates’ should happen. The temporal word e4let8 ‘future’ is used to indicate that a potential future event is involved, simultaneous with the event denoted by the second clause. As with (1), example (2) does not use a formal marker to indicate the temporal semantic relation between the two events. The temporal semantic relation between two events or states is also often marked by an adverb such as tsiu5 就 in (3) and (4). (3) Time clause + [tsiu5 就+ VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 伊 看 著 我 i1 khuã5-3 tioʔ8-4 gua3 3SG look PVC 1SG 就 共 我 說 無 票 tsiu5-4 ka5-4 gua3-2 sǝʔ7-8 bo2-4 phio5 then to 1SG say not.have ticket ‘He told me that the tickets have been sold out, when/after he saw me.’ (4) Time clause + [tsiu5 就+ ADJ]MATRIX CLAUSE 兩 間 房 鋪 者 就 好看 4 1 2 1 0 5-4 lŋ kuin paŋ phɔ tse tsiu ho3-2-khuã5 two CL room pave DELIM then good-look ‘(The house) will be nice after laying the flooring in the two rooms.’ In (3), the first event i1 khuã5-3tioʔ8-4 gua3 ‘he saw me’ indicates the time when the second event ka5-4 gua3-2 sǝʔ7-8 bo2-4 phio5 ‘tell me that the tickets have been sold out’ happens. The adverb tsiu5 is used to denote that these two events happen in succession. Unlike English subordinating conjunctions such as when and (right) after, the adverb tsiu5 in Hui’an is used in the main clause, rather than used to introduce the temporal adverbial clause i1 khuã5-3tioʔ8-4 gua3 ‘he saw me’. In (4), ho32 khuã5 ‘good looking’ denotes the envisaged state after the event encoded by lŋ4 kuin1 paŋ2 phɔ1 tse0 ‘lay the floor in the two rooms’. The adverb tsiu5 here indicates the temporal sequence relation between the event ‘lay the floor in the two rooms’ and the state ‘good looking’. In addition, the event ‘lay the floor in the two rooms’ can also be interpreted as a cause of the state ‘good looking’. In other words, the
Time clauses | 451
adverb tsiu5 in (4) not only denotes a temporal sequence relation, but also signals a cause-consequence relation. Similarly, the following example denotes not only a temporal relation, but also a conditional relation. (5) Time clause + [tsiu5 就+ VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 拜六 拜日, 我 有 閑, 5-3 8 5-3 8 3 4 pai lak pai let gua u uin2 Saturday Sunday 1SG have Leisure 就 著 開始 掃 塗骹 洗 塗骹 tsiu5-4 tioʔ8-4 khai1si3-2 sau5-3 thɔ2-4kha1 sue3-2 thɔ2-4kha1 then should begin sweep floor wash floor ‘At the weekends, when/if I have time, I need to do some cleaning.’ Example (5) has two possible interpretations: firstly, the situation coded by the first clause gua3 u4 uin2 ‘I have time’ can indicate the time when the event in the second clause, tioʔ8-4 khai1si3-2 sau5-3thɔ2-4kha1 sue3-2thɔ2-4kha1 ‘need to begin doing some cleaning’ will happen; and, secondly, the same first clause gua3 u4 uin2 can also indicate the necessary condition for the event ‘need to begin doing some cleaning’ to take place. In other words, the adverb tsiu5 denotes the temporal relation between the two events in the first interpretation, but signals the conditional relation between the two events in the second interpretation. The adverb tsiu5 can co-occur with tsit8 蜀 ‘one’ as in (6), or with tu3 拄 ‘just’ as in (7), to express that two events happen in succession and emphasizes a short time interval between the events. (6) [tsit8 蜀+ VP]TIME CLAUSE + [tsiu5 就+ VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 蜀 去 就 可以 申請 副教授 tsit8-4 khɯ5 tsiu5-4 khɔ3-2i3 sen1tshiŋ3-2 hu5-3kau5-3siu5 one go then can apply associate.professor ‘(He) can apply for associate professor as soon as (he) goes there.’ (7) [tu3 拄+ VP]TIME CLAUSE + [tsiu5 就+ VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 我 拄 出 蜀仔久 就 拍 電話 gua3 tu3-2 tshut7 tsit8-4-a3-2-ku3 tsiu5-4 phaʔ7-8 ten5-4ue5 1SG just go.out one-DIM-long then hit telephone ‘(They) phoned me right after I went out for a short while.’
452 | Adverbial clauses
In (6), the adverb tsiu5 co-occurs with tsit8 ‘one’ to indicate that the event khɔ3-2i3 sen1tshiŋ3-2 hu5-3kau5-3siu5 ‘can apply for associate professor’ will happen right after the event of his going there, encoded by the verb khɯ5 ‘go’. In (7), the adverb tsiu5 is used with tu3 ‘just’ to show that the event phaʔ7-8 ten5-4ue5 ‘phone (me)’ happened right after the event of my going out for a short while, encoded by the clause gua3 tu3-2 tshut7 tsit8-4a3-2ku3. Besides the adverb tsiu5, the adverbs tsiaʔ7 則 ‘then’ and koʔ7 佫 ‘again’ can also be used to signal the relation of a temporal sequence between two events. Examples are given in (8) and (9), respectively. (8) Time clause + [tsiaʔ7 則+ VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 泉州 教 幾 年 則 調 過來 tsuan2-4tsiu1 ka5 kui3-2 lin2 tsiaʔ7-8 tiau5 kǝ0lai0 PN teach several year then transfer come.over ‘(I) was transferred here after teaching for several years in Quanzhou.’ (9) Time clause + [koʔ7 佫 + VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 幾 垛 落去 交, 佫 去 燙 kui3-2 tǝ5 loʔ8-4khɯ5-3 kiau1 koʔ7-8 khɯ5-3 thŋ5 several CL go.down add.in again go heat ‘(The duck meat) can be heated after putting several pieces into (the noodles).’ In (8), the adverb tsiaʔ7 indicates that the event tiau5 kǝ0lai0 ‘transfer here’ happens after the event tsuan2-4tsiu1 ka5 kui3-2lin2 ‘teach for several years in Quanzhou’. The context of (9) is that people are talking about some duck meat, and the speaker suggests putting several pieces of duck meat into the noodles, and then heating the rest of duck meat. In this case, the adverb koʔ7 is used to indicate that one event takes place after another event. In other words, the event kui3-2 tǝ5 loʔ84 khɯ5-3 kiau1 ‘put several pieces of (duck meat) into (the noodles)’ happens before the event khɯ5-3 thŋ5 ‘go to heat (the duck meat)’. Besides the adverbs such as tsiu5, tsiaʔ7 and koʔ7, the verbal complement liau3 了‘finish’ is also often used to signal the temporal relation between two events or states. An example is given in (10).
Time clauses | 453
(10) [VP + liau3 了]TIME CLAUSE + Matrix clause 成家 了, 蠻 艱苦 哦 siŋ2-4ke1 liau3 ban2-4 kan1khɔ3 o0 get.married finish rather tough SFP ‘Life is rather tough after getting married.’ In (10), the verbal complement liau3, originally being a verb meaning ‘finish’, occurs after the verb siŋ2-4ke1 ‘get married’, indicating the realization of the event ‘get married’. At the same time, liau3 has a sequencing function in signaling that the situation ban2-4 kan1khɔ3 ‘rather tough’ happens after the event of getting married. In other words, the verbal complement liau3 in (10) denotes the temporal relation between an event and a state in coding the anteriority of the first event with respect to the second (see Bybee et al. 1994 for ‘finish’ as a common lexical source of anteriors). Unlike adverbs such as tsiu5, the verbal complement liau3 is always used in clause-final position of the temporal adverbial clause, rather than in the main clause. The verbal complement liau3 is also often used with the adverbs such as tsiu5 and tsiaʔ7, as in (11) and (12). (11) [NP + VP + liau3 了]TIME CLAUSE + [NP + tsiu5 就+ VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 我 讀 中學 了, gua3 thak8-4 tiɔŋ1oʔ8 liau3 1SG study middle.school finish 媽仔 就 呣八 罵 我 bã2-a0 tsiu5-4 m5-4pat7-8 bã5-4 gua3 mother-NM then never scold 1SG ‘Mother never scolded me after I entered middle school.’ (12) [NP + VP + liau3 了]TIME CLAUSE + [NP + tsiaʔ7 則+ VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 𪜶 背 了, 我 則 會做 斡來 en1 pue5-4 liau3 gua3 tsiaʔ7-8 e4tsue5-3 uat7lai0 3PL recite finish 1SG only.then can come.back ‘I cannot come back until they finish reciting.’ In (11), the verbal complement liau3 is preceded by the verb phrase thak8-4 tiɔŋ1oʔ8 ‘study in a middle school’, indicating the achievement of the event ‘enter into study at middle school’. In addition, the verbal complement liau3 and the adverb tsiu5 together signal the temporal sequence between the event ‘I study in middle school’ and the event ‘Mother never scolds me’. Similarly, liau3 in (12) occurs after
454 | Adverbial clauses
the verb pue5 ‘recite’ to denote the completion of the event ‘recite’. In addition, liau3 and the adverb tsiaʔ7 together signal that the event ‘they finish reciting’ happens before the event ‘I can come back’. The clause with the verb tan3 等 ‘wait’ as in (13), or with kau5 遘 ‘arrive’ as in (14), can also be used to indicate the time of an event or state. (13) [tan3 等 + NP + VP]TIME CLAUSE + [tsiaʔ7 則+ VP]MATRIX CLAUSE 等 伊 來 則 與 伊 tan3-2 i1 lai2 tsiaʔ7-8 khɔ5 i0 wait 3SG come then give 3SG ‘Give (it) to him when he comes.’ (14) [kau5 遘 + NP + VP]TIME CLAUSE + Matrix clause 遘 我 會曉得, 都 中年 kau5-3 gua3 e4hiau3let0 tɔ1 tiɔŋ1len2 arrive 1SG know already middle.age ‘(She) was already a middle-aged woman when better.’
咯 lɔ0 SFP I was old enough to know
In (13), the clause introduced by the verb tan3 ‘wait’, i.e. tan3-2 i1 lai2 (literally means ‘wait him come’), indicates the time when the event khɔ5 i0 ‘give him’ happens. In (14), the clause introduced by the verb kau5 ‘arrive’, i.e. kau5-3 gua3 e4hiau3let0 ‘when I was old enough to know better’, provides a reference time, when the person referred to was already a middle-aged woman. The Hui’an dialect also uses the form of relative clause to express the time of an event or a state, as in (15). (15) 恁 搬厝 其 時站, 我 無 倒來 len3 puã1-tshu5 e2-4 si2-4tsam4 gua3 bo2-4 to5lai0 2PL move-house RM time 1SG not.have come.back ‘I didn’t come back when you moved house.’ In (15), the noun si2-4tsam4 ‘time’ functions as the head noun of the relative clause len3 puã1tshu5 ‘you move house’. The whole construction len3 puã1tshu5 e2-4 si24 tsam4 ‘when you moved house’ provides a reference time for when the event gua3 bo2-4 to5lai0 ‘I didn’t come back’ happens. As shown by the examples so far, the Hui’an dialect basically does not use subordinating conjunctions (such as English when, before and after) to mark a temporal adverbial clause. In Hui’an, there is a preference for the use of adverbs
Cause clauses | 455
and a variety of sequencing markers, including tsit8 + Verb ‘as soon as’ and clause-final liau3, as has been shown. However, the clause introduced by tak84 kiŋ3 ‘every time’ as in (16) below seems to be similar to English temporal adverbial clauses marked by every time or whenever. (16) 逐口 買 物件, 計 無 算 錢 tak8-4kiŋ3 bue3-2 bŋʔ8-4kiã4 ke5-3 bo2-4 sŋ5-3 tsin2 every.time buy thing all not.have count money ‘(I) don’t count money every time (I) buy something.’
23.3 Cause clauses Cause clauses indicate the cause or reason of an action, event or a state. In Hui’an, the cause clause is typically zero-marked. The cause clause and the consequence clause are juxtaposed together, without any overt marker. Generally speaking, the cause clause iconically precedes the consequence clause, as in (17). (17) Cause clause + Consequence clause 過 早 落去, 過 布 kǝ5-3 tsa3 loʔ8khɯ0 kǝ5-3 pɔ5 too early go.down too tough ‘(The meat) is too tough, since (it) was put into the pot too early.’ In (17), the first clause kǝ5-3 tsa3 loʔ8khɯ0 ‘(it) was put into the pot too early’ serves as a cause of the second clause kǝ5-3 pɔ5 ‘(the meat) is too tough’. The cause clause can also occur after the consequence clause, as in (18). This is used for further explanation. (18) Consequence clause + Cause clause 去 哦, 迄搭 坐 恰 燒 呀 5 0 7-8 7 4 7-8 1 khɯ o hit -taʔ tsǝ khaʔ sio ia0 go SFP that-LOC sit comparatively warm SFP ‘Go ahead, since it is warmer sitting there.’ In (18), the speaker suggests to the addressee to sit at another place, since it is warmer there. The first clause khɯ5 o0 ‘go ahead’ is the suggestion of the speaker, and the second clause hit7-8taʔ7 tsǝ4 khaʔ7-8 sio1 ia0 ‘it is warmer sitting there’ is used to explain why the suggestion has been made.
456 | Adverbial clauses
The clauses with subordinating conjunctions en1ui5 因為 ‘because’ or sɔ3-2i3 所 以‘so’ can also be attested in daily conversations. Two examples are given in (19) and (20). (19) [en1ui5 因為 + NP + VP]CAUSE CLAUSE + Consequence clause 因為 伊 呣 知 㑑 障 想, en1ui5 i1 m5-4 tsai1 lan3 tsiũ5-3 siũ4 because 3SG not know 1PL how think 伊 就 按 伊 的 風俗 來 辦 i1 tsiu5-4 an5-3 i1 e2-4 hɔŋ1sioʔ8 lai2-4 pan5 3SG then follow 3SG GEN custom come do ‘Since they don’t know what we think about (the ceremony), they’re preparing for it according to their custom.’ (20) Cause clause + [sɔ3-2i3 所以 + NP + VP]CONSEQUENCE CLAUSE 小妹 也 會 摕, sio3-2bǝ5 a4 e4 thueʔ8 Y.sister also would take 所以, 恁 該 用 著 用 3-2 3 3 1 5 8-4 sɔ i len kai iŋ tioʔ iŋ5 so 2PL should use should use ‘The younger sister will also give you (money), so, you should use (it) when you need.’ In (19), the clause introduced by the subordinating conjunction en1ui5 ‘because’ semantically functions as a cause of the second clause. In (20), the second clause, i.e. the consequence clause introduced by the subordinating conjunction sɔ3-2i3 ‘so’, occurs after the first clause (i.e. the cause clause). Note, however, that the clauses with the subordinating conjunctions en1ui5 ‘because’ or sɔ3-2i3 ‘so’, as in (19) and (20), are not commonly used in daily conversations, and are essentially restricted to the speech of the younger generation. The use of this type of clause is probably a result of influence from Mandarin Chinese. As mentioned above, some complex sentences that denote a temporal sequence relation may also signal cause, especially those involving an adverb such as tsiu5, as in example (4) above. Similar clauses may only signal cause, bearing no relation to temporality, as illustrated by (21) and (22).
Purpose clauses | 457
(21) Cause clause + [siã2 + VP]CONSEQUENCE CLAUSE 合 我 其 骹 遘, hap8-4 gua3 e2-4 kha1 a3 suit 1SG GEN foot EVC 口 共 伊 買 來 siã2 ka5-4 i1 bue3 lai0 then KA 3SG buy come ‘(It) fits my feet well, so I bought it.’ (22) Cause clause + [NP + tsiaʔ7 則 + VP]CONSEQUENCE CLAUSE 我 驚 起 遘 暗摸摸, 3 1 3 gua kiã khi a5-3 am5-3bɔ̃ 1bɔ̃ 1 1SG be.afraid build CM dark 我 則 呣 敢 訂 gua3 tsiaʔ7-8 m5-4 kã3-2 tiã5 1SG Then not dare reserve ‘I was afraid that (it) would be dark, so I didn’t dare to reserve (the storage room).’ In (21), the first clause hap8-4 gua3 e2-4 kha1 a3 ‘it fits my feet well’ serves as a cause of the event ‘I bought it’, encoded by the second clause. The adverb siã2 ‘then’, used in this second, consequence clause, is used to signal a causal relation between the two events. Similarly, in (22), the first clause gua3 kiã1 khi3 a5-3 am5-3bɔ̃1bɔ̃1 ‘I was afraid that (it) would be dark’ is the cause of the event ‘I didn’t dare to reserve (the storage room)’, encoded by the second clause. In this case, it is the adverb tsiaʔ7 that indicates a causal relation between the two events. As with the adverb siã2, the adverb tsiaʔ7 is also used in the consequence clause, rather than in the cause clause.
23.4 Purpose clauses In Hui’an, purpose clauses often take the form of a serial verb construction, especially those using the verb khɯ5 去 ‘go’ to link two verb phrases, as in (23). (23) VP + [khɯ5 去 + VP]PURPOSE CLAUSE 我 行 遘 遘 南門 去 (扌罪) 伊 gua3 kiã2 a3 kau5-3 lam2-4-bŋ2 khɯ5-3 tshǝ5 i0 1SG walk EVC arrive south-gate go look.for 3SG ‘I walked to South Gate (in order) to see her.’
458 | Adverbial clauses
In (23), tshǝ5 i0 ‘see her’ (lit. look for her) serves as a purpose of the event ‘I walked to South Gate’, encoded by the clause gua3 kiã2 a3 kau5-3 lam2-4bŋ2. The verb khɯ5 is used here to link the two clauses, and thus can be regarded as a purpose marker. The auxiliary verb thaŋ1 嗵 ‘can’ seems to have similar functions, as in (24) and (25). (24) VP + [NP + thaŋ1 嗵 + VP]PURPOSE CLAUSE 口 恰 過, 阮 嗵 摒 衫褲 tshau2 khaʔ7-8 kǝ5 gun3 thaŋ1 piã5-3 sã1khɔ5 move a.bit over 1PL can pack clothes ‘Move over a little bit, so that we can pack the clothes.’ (25) VP + [thaŋ1 嗵 + VP]PURPOSE CLAUSE 蜀 日 衫褲 共 摒摒 嗵 搬家 tsit8-4 let8-4 sã1khɔ5 ka5-1 piã5-3~piã5 thaŋ1 puã1-ke1 one day clothes OM pack~pack can move-home ‘Pack the clothes one day (in order) to move house.’ In (24), the clause gun3 thaŋ1 piã5-3 sã1khɔ5 ‘we can pack the clothes’ denotes the purpose of the speaker’s suggestion ‘move over a little bit’, encoded by the first clause. Similarly, in (25), puã1ke1 ‘move-home’ is the purpose of the suggestion ‘pack the clothes one day’, encoded by the clause tsit8-4let8-4 sã1khɔ5 ka5-1 piã5-3piã5. In both examples, thaŋ1 occurs in the purpose clause. The morpheme thaŋ1 is originally a modal auxiliary verb (see chapter 12). It is possibly the semantic component of enabling that ‘can’ verbs possess which allows this development into a quasi-marker of purpose, that is, of one event enabling another to be realized.
23.5 Conditional clauses Conditional clauses provide the condition for the realization of an event. The conditional clause in Hui’an is often marked by a subordinating conjunction such as lã4 若 ‘if’, especially when the conditional clause is used to predicate what it will be, as in (26), or express counterfactuals, as in (27).
Conditional clauses | 459
(26) [Temporal + NP + lã4 若+ VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 下日 㑑 若 洗 碗箸, e4let8 lan3 lã4 sue3-2 uã3-2-tɯ5 future 1PL if wash bowl-chopsticks 就 燒水 放 (起來) 洗 tsiu5-4 sio1-tsui3 paŋ5-3 khai4 sue3 just hot-water release RVC wash ‘In the future, if we need to wash the dishes, we can just use the hot water.’ (27) [NP + lã4 若+ VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 我 若 無 倒來, 驚 汝 看 3 4 2-4 5 0 1 3-2 gua lã bo to lai kiã lɯ khuã5 1SG if not.have come.back be.afraid 2SG look ‘If I didn’t come back, I’d be afraid that you would be expecting me anyway.’ In (26), the time word e4let8 ‘future’ indicates that a potential future event is involved. The clause introduced by the subordinating conjunction lã4 ‘if’, i.e. e4let8 lan3 lã4 sue3-2 uã3-2tɯ5 ‘in the future, if we need to wash the dishes’, functions as a conditional adverbial clause. This example may also be interpreted as a future time clause. Cross-linguistically, it is not uncommon that there is no distinction between predicative conditionals and future time clauses (cf. Thompson, Longacre & Hwang 2007:257). The context of (27) is that the speaker goes back home every weekend during the periods when she is studying in another city, since she does not want her mother to keep expecting her in vain. In this case, bo2-4 to5lai0 ‘not come back’ is not a fact but purely hypothetical. This is a case of the counterfactual. The first conditional clause has also been marked by the subordinating conjunction lã4 ‘if’. In terms of position, in both these examples, the subordinating conjunction lã4 ‘if’ occurs between the subject and the verb phrase. For example, lã4 in (26) is placed between the subject lan3 ‘we’ and the verb phrase sue3-2 uã3-2tɯ5 ‘wash the dishes’. The conditional clause marked by the conjunction lã4 ‘if’ can also be used for the situations that might happen, as in (28), or for the present or past situations in the real world, as in (29).
460 | Adverbial clauses
(28) [NP + lã4 若+ VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 伊 若 聽 𣍐 落, i1 lã4 thiã1 bue4 loʔ8 3SG if listen can.not down 也 𣍐 來 㑑搭 坐 咯 a4 bue4 lai2-4 lan3-taʔ7 tsǝ4 lɔ0 also can.not come 1PL-LOC sit SFP ‘If he couldn’t listen to us, he wouldn’t come to our place.’ (29) [Locative + lã4 若+ VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 口面 若 落雨, 3-2 2 khau ben lã4 loʔ8-4-hɔ4 outside if fall-rain 衫褲 共 口 入來 sã1khɔ5 ka5-1 hiãʔ7 liǝp0lai0 clothes OM take come.into ‘If it is raining outside, take the clothes in.’ The context of (28) is that people are giving advice to their friend, and the speaker is sure that their friend does not mind what they are telling him. In other words, the conditional clause i1 lã4 thiã1 bue4 loʔ8 ‘if he couldn’t listen to us’ in (28) involves a situation that might happen (i.e. a hypothetical situation). In (29), however, the conditional clause khau3-2ben2 lã4 loʔ8ho3 ‘if it is raining outside’ involves a possible present situation outside the house at the time of speech. Besides the conjunction lã4, other formal markers for conditional clauses are also attested in daily conversations. For example, the subordinating conjunction lã4 si4 若是 ‘if’ is typically used to express counterfactuals, as in (30), but can also be used for the present or past situations, as in (31). (30) [NP + lã4si4 若是+ VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 阮 老 若 是 卜 摕 我 錢 去 3-2 4 4 4 7-8 8-4 3 2 gun lau lã si boʔ thueʔ gua tsin khɯ5 1PL old if be want take 1SG money go 蜀 個 月 會 澈澈澈 tsit8-4 ko5-3 gǝʔ8 e4 theʔ7-8~theʔ7-8~theʔ7 one CL month can finished~finished~finished ‘If my father had wanted to take my money, I would be absolutely broke by the end of each month.’
Conditional clauses | 461
(31) [lã4si4 若是+ VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + [NP + VP] 若 是 遘 拜五 暗頭, 我 是 發呆, lã4 si4 kau5-3 pai5-3gɔ4 am5-3thau2 gua3 si4 huat7-8tai1 if be arrive week.five dusk 1SG be stare.blankly 計 無 心 嗵 做 生理 ke5-3 bo2-4 siǝm1 thaŋ1 tsue5-3 siŋ1li3 all not.have heart can do business ‘If Friday evening arrived with me in a daze, I wasn’t always in the mood for doing business. ’ In (30), the fact is that the speaker’s father does not want to take his money, and thus the conditional clause gun3-2 lau4 lã4 si4 boʔ7-8 thueʔ8-4 gua3 tsin2 khɯ5 ‘if my father wanted to take my money’ is a case of a counterfactual conditional, used to show that the salary of the speaker is not very high. In (31), the speaker is recalling past memories, and thus the conditional clause lã4 si4 kau5-3 pai5-3gɔ4 ‘if Friday evening arrived’ is used for a past situation. The expression boʔ7-8 khɔ5-4 gua3 卜與我, literally meaning ‘if give me’, can be used in a hypothetical situation, meaning ‘if it were me’, as in (32). (32) [boʔ7-8 khɔ5-4 gua3 卜與我]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + [NP + VP] 卜 與 我, 我 呣 愛 去 boʔ7-8 khɔ5-4 gua3 gua3 m5-4 ai5-3 khɯ5 want give 1SG 1SG not like go ‘If it were me, I wouldn’t want to go there.’ The context of (32) is that people are talking about living and working in the City of Shenzhen, and the speaker points out that if it were him, he would avoid moving there. Other forms involving the verb boʔ7 that can be used in a conditional clause include boʔ7-8 si4 卜是 ‘if’ (lit. want be), as in (33), and boʔ7-8 tsai1 卜知 ‘if (I) knew (it)’ (lit. want know), as in (34). Both are typically used to express counterfactuals.
462 | Adverbial clauses
(33) [boʔ7-8 si4 卜是 + NP + VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + [NP + a4 也 + VP] 卜 是 我 當時 無 說 汝, boʔ7-8 si4 gua3 tŋ1si2 bo2-4 sǝʔ7 lɯ0 want be 1SG then not.have say 2SG 㑑 也 𣍐 冤家 lan3 a4 bue4 uan1ke1 1PL also can.not quarrel ‘If I hadn’t scolded you, we wouldn’t have quarreled.’ (34) [DM + VP] + [boʔ7 卜+ V] + VP 啊 呣 知, 卜 知, 0 5-4 1 7-8 a m tsai boʔ tsai1 DM not know want know 直接 叫 即個 來 做 tet8-4tsiǝp7 kio5-3 tsit7-8-e2 lai2-4 tsue5 directly call this-CL come do ‘(I) didn’t know (it), if (I) had known (it), (I) would’ve contacted him directly for the job.’ In (33), the interlocutors are looking back at what happened, and the speaker is regretting that she scolded the addressee, which led to a quarrel between them. In other words, the speaker is imagining a possible world in which the event of scolding encoded by the first clause did not happen, and consequently nor did the ensuing quarrel, coded by the second clause. Thus, a case of the counterfactual is involved in this example. In (34), the speaker is talking about what he would have done if he knew something before. The fact is that he did not know it beforehand, as shown by the first clause a0 m5-4 tsai1 ‘(I) didn’t know (it)’. This is also a case of a counterfactual conditional. Conditional clauses without a subordinating conjunction are also commonly used in Hui’an, especially those used for present situations, as in (35). (35) VPCONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 愛 睏, 去 睏 ai5-3 khun5 khɯ5-3 khun5 like sleep go sleep ‘Go to sleep, if (you) are sleepy.’ In (35), the speaker finds that the addressee looks sleepy, and thus suggests to the addressee to go to bed, if he feels sleepy.
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Conditional clauses without a subordinating conjunction are also attested in other contexts, as in (36) and (37). (36) VPCONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 做做 來, 就 包 蜀 個 與 伊 tsue5-3tsue5 lai2 tsiu5-4 pau1 tsit8-4 e2-4 khɔ5 i0 together come then wrap one CL give 3SG ‘If (they) come together, then give him a (red envelope).’ (37) [NP + VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + [NP + VP] 汝 卜 褪剝澈, 3 7-8 lɯ boʔ thŋ5-3-pak7-8-theʔ7 2SG want take.off-peel.off-nothing.left 阮 也 無 法 gun3 a4 bo2-4 huat7 1PL also not.have method ‘If you had wanted to be naked to the waist, I still could do nothing for you.’ Example (36) is used to predict what will happen if something takes place in the future. The conditional clause tsue5-3tsue5 lai2 ‘come together’ refers to a potential future event. In (37), the speaker wishes to express that she is not able to look after her daughter (i.e. the addressee), since her daughter is living and working in another city, which is far away from home. In this case, lɯ3 boʔ7-8 thŋ5-3pak78 theʔ7 ‘you want to be naked to the waist’ involves an impossible event, since it is basically impossible for a Chinese girl to move around naked to the waist even at home. In other words, this example shows a case of the counterfactual. Conditional clauses in a negative form (i.e. involving a negator) typically do not use a subordinating conjunction, and can be found in present, past or future situations in real world contexts. Examples are given in (38) – (40). (38) [NEG + V]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + [NP + VP] 呣 穿, 我 穿 m5-4 tshiŋ5 gua3 tshiŋ5 not wear 1SG wear ‘If (you) don’t want to wear (it), then I will.’
464 | Adverbial clauses
(39) [NEG + VP]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 呣 與 伊 食, 驚 伊 吼 m5-4 khɔ5-4 i1 tsiaʔ8 kiã1 i1 hau3 not give 3SG eat be.afraid 3SG cry ‘If (I) didn’t let him eat (it), (I) was afraid that he would cry.’ (40) [NEG + V]CONDITIONAL CLAUSE + VP 呣 來, 明日 掠 去 賣 捒 m5-4 lai2 biã2-4let8 liaʔ8-4 khɯ5-3 bue4 sak7 not come tomorrow catch go sell RVC ‘If (he) doesn’t come, let’s sell (it) tomorrow.’ In (38), people are talking about a piece of clothing which is in front of them at the speech time. In (39), the speaker is looking back at what has just happened with a child. Example (40) involves a potential future event of selling a chicken. As with the conditional clauses in a negative form as in (38) – (40), concessive conditionals in Hui’an usually do not co-occur with a subordinating conjunction. However, as illustrated by the following example, the adverb a4 也 ‘also’ is typically used in the main clause of this type of complex sentence. (41) VPCONDITIONAL CLAUSE + [a4 也 + VP] 佫 買, 也 無 即垛 口 koʔ7-8 bue3 a4 bo2-4 tsit7-8-tǝ5 thiak7 again buy also not.have this-CL beautiful ‘Even if (we) buy (one) again, (we) would not find a better one.’
23.6 Summary This chapter focuses on how adverbial clauses are encoded in Hui’an. Generally speaking, unlike some European languages such as English where adverbial clauses are usually marked by subordinating conjunctions, the Hui’an dialect tends to juxtapose the clauses with the semantic relation between the clauses inferred, or use an adverb in the main clause to mark the semantic relation between the clauses, though other types of marker are also attested. Besides being zero-marked, time clauses are also often marked by an adverb such as tsiu5 就 ‘then’, tsiaʔ7 則 ‘then’ and koʔ7 佫 ‘again’, among which tsiu5 can also co-occur with tsit8 蜀 ‘one’ or tu3 拄 ‘just’ to mean ‘as soon as…then’. Other temporal markers include the clause-final liau3 了(< ‘finish’), the verbs tan3 等
Summary | 465
‘wait’ and kau5 遘 ‘arrive’, the relative clause with si2-4tsam4 時站 ‘time’ as the head noun, and tak8-4kiŋ3 ‘every time’. The cause clause normally precedes the consequence clause, though it can also occur after the consequence clause for providing further explanation. The cause clause tends to be zero-marked. However, the subordinating conjunctions en1ui5 因為 ‘because’ and sɔ3-2i3 所以‘so’ can be attested in the speech of the younger generation, probably due to the influence from Mandarin Chinese. The cause clause can also be marked by an adverb such as siã2 ‘then’ and tsiaʔ7 則 ‘then’. Purpose clauses often take the form of a serial verb construction, especially those using the verb khɯ5 去 ‘go’ to link two verb phrases. The auxiliary verb thaŋ1 嗵 ‘can’ is also used to mark this construction type. The conditional clause is often marked by a subordinating conjunction such as lã4 若 ‘if’ and lã4si4 若是 ‘if’. The expression boʔ7-8 khɔ5-4 gua3 卜與我, literally meaning ‘if-give-me’, can be used in a hypothetical situation, meaning ‘if it were me’. Other forms involving the verb boʔ7 that can be used in a conditional clause include boʔ7-8 si4 卜是 ‘if’ (lit. want-be) and boʔ7-8 tsai1 卜知 ‘if (I) knew (it)’ (lit. want-know), both of which are used to express counterfactuals. Conditional clauses without any subordinating conjunction are also commonly used.
24 Complement clauses 24.1 Introduction Complement clauses refer to the clauses which function as a core argument of a higher clause (cf. Noonan 1985; Dixon 2006). Little systematic research has been conducted on this topic for Chinese. To our knowledge, several papers (Cheng 1997e; Xu & Matthews 2007; Chappell 2008) examined the complementizers developed from the ‘say’ verb and/or the ‘see’ verb, among which Cheng (1997e) focuses on both the ‘say’ verb and the ‘see’ verb in Taiwan Southern Min and Taiwan Mandarin, Xu & Matthews (2007) examine the ‘say’ verb and the ‘see’ verb in two varieties of Southern Min (Taiwan and Chaozhou), while Chappell (2008) gives a discussion of the ‘say’ verb used as a complementizer in Chinese in general. In Hui’an, complement clauses typically function as an object of the main clause, and thus can be referred to as object clauses. The main semantic classes of verbs that can take an object clause in Hui’an include (a) utterance verbs, such as sǝʔ7 說 ‘say’, kaŋ3 講 ‘say’ and bŋ5 問 ‘ask’; (b) verbs of perception and cognition, such as khuã5 看 ‘look’, thiã1 聽 ‘listen to, hear’, kam3-2kak7 感覺 ‘feel’, siũ4 想 ‘think’, ai5 愛 ‘like’, kiã1 驚 ‘be afraid’, tsai1(iã3)知(影) ‘know’, e4ki5(let0)會記(得) ‘remember’, and huat7-8hen5 發現 ‘find’; (c) modal verbs of volition, such as boʔ7 卜 ‘want’, siũ4boʔ7 想卜 ‘want’ and ai5 愛 ‘want’; and (d) causative (or manipulative) verbs, such as khɔ5 與 ‘give’, kio5 叫 ‘call, ask’ and tshiã3 請 ‘invite, hire’. As shown in the following table, utterance verbs and some verbs of perception and cognition such as kam3-2kak7 ‘feel’ and siũ4 ‘think’ can be followed by the complementizer sǝʔ7 (< ‘say’) and/or khuã5 看 (< ‘look’), among which the complementizer khuã5 is typically used to introduce an interrogative complement clause and is used in the context which inquires about something or looks for an answer. Note, however, that the utterance verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’ cannot cooccur with the complementizer sǝʔ7 (< ‘say’), unlike some other Southern Min varieties such as Taiwan.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-024
Utterance verbs | 467
Tab. 24-1: The main semantic classes of verbs that can take an object clause in the Hui’an dialect
Utterance verbs
sǝʔ7 說 ‘say’ 3
Verbs of perception and cognition
-
+ +
kaŋ 講 ‘say’
+ +
+
khuã5 看 ‘look
-
-
thiã1 聽 ‘listen to, hear’ -
+
kam3-2kak7 感覺 ‘feel’
+
+
siũ4 想 ‘think’
+
+
ai5 愛 ‘like’
-
-
kiã1 驚 ‘be afraid’
-
-
tsai (iã )知(影) ‘know’
-
-
e4ki5(let0)會記(得) ‘remember’
+
-
3
huat7-8hen5 發現 ‘find’
+
-
boʔ7 卜 ‘want’
-
-
siũ4boʔ7 想卜 ‘want’
-
-
5
Causative (or manipulative) verbs
+complementizer khuã5 看 (< ‘look’)
bŋ5 問 ‘ask’
1
Modal verbs of volition
+complementizer sǝʔ7 說 (< ‘say’)
ai 愛 ‘want’
-
-
khɔ5 與 ‘give’
-
-
kio5 叫 ‘call, ask’
-
-
-
-
3
tshiã 請 ‘invite, hire’
24.2 Utterance verbs Utterance verbs describe the manner of information transfer, and the object clause they take represents the transferred information. The subject of utterance verbs, i.e. the subject of the main clause, is the agent who transfers the information. As mentioned above, utterance verbs in Hui’an include sǝʔ7 ‘say’, kaŋ3 ‘say’ and bŋ5 ‘ask’, of which, sǝʔ7 is the most basic and common one. Note that this differs from Taiwan Southern Min where kóng 講 is the main speech act verb of saying (cf. Chappell 2008).
468 | Complement clauses
Compared to other semantic classes, an important feature of utterance verbs is that they can introduce what was said by the speaker or other people, i.e. the object clause they take can be a quotation: either a direct quotation, as in (1), or an indirect quotation, as in (2). (1)
我 說 “汝 著 問 gua3 sǝʔ7-8 lɯ3 tioʔ8-4 bŋ5-4 1SG say 2SG should ask ‘I said, “You should clarify it”.’
清楚” tshiŋ1tshɔ3 clear
(2) 伊 說 伊 卜 過來 1 7-8 1 7-8 i sǝʔ i boʔ kǝ5lai0 3SG say 3SG want come.over ‘He said that he wanted to come over.’ The direct quotation gives the actual words of the speaker, and even often imitates the intonation and body language, while the indirect quotation needs to be adapted to the viewpoint of the speaker, especially those deictic expressions such as personal pronouns and demonstratives (cf. Noonan 1985:121; Givón 2001:155). In (1), the speaker quotes what she herself said before. The clause lɯ3 tioʔ8-4 bŋ5-4 tshiŋ1tshɔ3 ‘you should clarify it’ is the direct quotation, functioning as an object of the utterance verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’ in the main clause. Note that the object clause in (1) may not necessarily be a word-for-word quotation, albeit its purported character. In fact, most direct quotations in Hui’an such as (1) keep the meanings of what was said and the original perspective of the expression, but do not necessarily represent the exact words or intonation, even though the speaker intends for the addressee to understand that it is a verbatim reproduction. In (2), however, the speaker reports, rather than quotes directly, what was said by another person. The clause i1 boʔ7-8 kǝ5lai0 ‘he wanted to come over’, which also functions as an object of the verb sǝʔ7, is an indirect, rather than a direct, quotation. This fact is evident in the second occurrence of the third person singular pronoun i1 ‘he’, i.e. the subject of the object clause, which substitutes for the original first person singular pronoun gua3 ‘I’, and is thus used to report. Both (1) and (2) are used to quote different declarative sentences. The following are two examples of quoting an interrogative.
Utterance verbs | 469
(3) 我 說 “我 嗵 去 呣” gua3 sǝʔ7-8 gua3 thaŋ1 khɯ5 m0 1SG say 1SG can go SFP ‘I said, “Can I go there?”.’ (4) NP + VUTTERANCE + khuã5COMP + [VP]COMPLEMENT CLAUSE 伊 說 看 嗵 共 𪜶 囝 1 7-8 5-3 1 5-4 1 i sǝʔ khuã thaŋ ka en kã3 3SG say COMP can to 3PL child 買 電腦 呣 bue3-2 ten5-4lo3 m0 buy computer SFP ‘She asked whether (she) could buy her son a computer.’ As with (1), (3) is an example of direct quotation: the speaker directly quotes what she herself said before. Unlike (1), however, the object clause gua3 thaŋ1 khɯ5 m0 ‘can I go there’ is an interrogative clause, rather than a declarative clause. When people report an interrogative clause in indirect speech, a complementizer is usually placed after the utterance verb. For example, in (4), the speaker reports what was said by another person, and the complementizer khuã5 (derived from the verb khuã5 ‘look’) is inserted between the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’ and the object clause thaŋ1 ka54 en1 kã3 bue3-2 ten5-4lo3 m0 ‘can (she) buy her son a computer’. When the verb in the main clause is encoded by the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’, the addressee is often covert, as illustrated by (1) – (4) above. The following example, however, shows that the addressee can also be overt, and is typically introduced by the preposition ka5 共. (5) NP + ka5GOAL MARKER + NPGOAL + VUTTERANCE + [NP + VP]COMPLEMENT CLAUSE 我 共 伊 說 我 咧 洗 衫褲 gua3 ka5-4 i1 sǝʔ7-8 gua3 leʔ7-8 sue3-2 sã1khɔ5 1SG to 3SG say 1SG PROG wash clothes (a)‘I said to him, “I am washing the clothes”.’ (b) ‘I said to him I was washing the clothes. In (5), the third person singular pronoun i1 ‘he’, preceded by the preposition ka5, is the addressee of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’. The declarative clause gua3 leʔ7-8 sue3-2 sã1khɔ5 ‘I am washing the clothes’ functions as an object of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’. Unlike examples (1) – (4) above, example (5) has two possible interpretations due
470 | Complement clauses
to the presence of a first person pronoun: (a) the object clause is a direct quotation, as in (5a); and (b) the object clause is an indirect quotation, as in (5b). The subject of the object clause (the second occurrence of the pronoun gua3 ‘I’) is coreferential with the subject of the main clause (the first occurrence of gua3 ‘I’). In other words, the differences in the use of pronouns, which help distinguish direct quotations from indirect quotations in (1) and (2), do not work in the case of example (5). In this case, the speaker may use a pause after the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’ and imitate the intonation of the original utterance to distinguish a direct quotation such as (5a) from an indirect quotation such as (5b). However, we cannot rule out the possibility that examples which use neither a pause nor imitate the intonation could also be direct quotations. It is obvious that the distinction between direct and indirect quotations in (5) is not as explicit as that in (1) – (4), where it is made more clearly through the use of pronouns and also in (4) by the presence of an overt complementizer. This may suggest that, in daily conversation, not all object clauses of utterance verbs can be clearly grouped into direct or indirect quotations, independent of their context. Note, furthermore, that not all the languages in the world use indirect quotations, though direct quotations are claimed to exist in all languages (Noonan 1985:122). In Hui’an, however, both direct and indirect quotations are common in daily conversation, as reflected in our texts. The object clause of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’ is itself normally an independent clause, and can be used alone as a main clause, as illustrated by examples (1) – (3) and (5). However, when the subject of the object clause, which functions as an indirect quotation, is co-referential with the subject of the main clause, the subject of the object clause is usually omitted, as in (4), where the subject of the object clause (thaŋ1 ka5-4 en1 kã3 bue3-2 ten5-4lo3 m0 ‘can (she) buy her son a computer’) is covert, since it is co-referential with the subject of the main clause i1 ‘she’. This is a case of an interrogative clause. The following is an example of a declarative one. (6) 伊 說 暗暝 倒來 1 7-8 5-3 2 i sǝʔ am bin to5lai0 3SG say evening come.back ‘He said he would come back tonight.’ In (6), the declarative clause am5-3bin2 to5lai0 ‘come back tonight’ is an indirect quotation, and functions as an object of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’. The subject of the object clause is omitted, since it is co-referential with the subject of the main clause i1 ‘he’.
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All the examples given so far quote or report what was said by the speaker or other people. This, however, cannot cover all the instances of object clauses of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’, as illustrated by (7) and (8). (7) 汝 共 伊 說 “我 無 錢” sǝʔ7-8 gua3 bo2-4 tsin2 lɯ3 ka5-4 i1 2SG to 3SG say 1SG not.have money ‘Tell him, “I have no money”.’ (8) 汝 共 伊 說 汝 無 閑 lɯ3 ka5-4 i1 sǝʔ7-8 lɯ3 bo2-4 uin2 2SG to 3SG say 2SG not.have leisure ‘Tell him that you don’t have time.’ In (7), the clause gua3 bo2-4 tsin2 ‘I have no money’ functions as an object of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’. In (8), the clause lɯ3 bo2-4 uin2 ‘you don’t have time’ also functions as an object of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’. Unlike those in examples (1) – (6), the object clauses in (7) and (8) are not instances of what has been said previously by the speaker (or other people). They do not involve a past event, but involve suggestions made by the speaker for the addressee, that is, the speaker suggests to the addressee how to talk to another person (i.e. i1 ‘he’, the addressee of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’) in a potential future event. Interestingly, these two examples show differences in terms of their use of personal pronouns: the first person singular pronoun gua3 is used in (7), while the second person singular pronoun lɯ3 is used in (8), though they are both used to refer to the addressee lɯ3 ‘you’. In other words, a similar distinction between direct and indirect quotations is also attested in examples (7) and (8), that is, the suggested information can be transferred from different viewpoints (the viewpoint of the addressee, or the viewpoint of the speaker). The verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’ can also take other types of object clause, as illustrated by (9) and (10). (9) 阿三 心裡 說 阮 無 愛 去 a1sã1 siǝm1-lai4 sǝʔ7-8 gun3 bo2-4 ai5-3 khɯ5 PN heart-inside say 1PL not.have like go ‘Ah-San said in his heart, “I don’t want to go”.’
472 | Complement clauses
(10) 我 說 恁 蜀 個 啉 半 碗 gua3 sǝʔ7-8 len3 tsit8-4 e2 liǝm1 puã5-3 uã3 1SG say 2PL one CL drink half bowl ‘I suggest that each of you drink half a bowl of (soup).’ In (9), the object clause gun3 bo2-4 ai5-3 khɯ5 ‘I don’t want to go’ does not represent what is said by the subject of the main clause (i.e. a1sã1 ‘Ah-San’) in the real world, but is rather a conjecture of the speaker about Ah-san’s innermost feelings. In (10), the object clause len3 tsit8-4 e2 liǝm1 puã5-3 uã3 ‘each of you drink half a bowl of (soup)’ does not represent what is said by the speaker, but is rather a suggestion of the speaker at the speech time. Unlike (7) and (8) above where the speaker suggests to the addressee how to talk to another person, example (10) is used by the speaker to suggest a certain course of action to the addressees. As with the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’, object clauses of the utterance verb kaŋ3 講 ‘say’ can be a quotation or a non-quotation. Unlike sǝʔ7 ‘say’, however, when the verb kaŋ3 ‘say’ takes an object clause, it tends to be understood as an indirect quotation, as illustrated by (11). (11) 共 阮 傷害 咯, 5-4 3-2 1 5 ka gun siɔŋ hai lɔ0 OM 1PL hurt SFP 佫 共 阮 講 心 是 好 其 koʔ7-8 ka5-4 gun3-2 kaŋ3-2 siǝm1 si4 ho3 e0 still to 1PL say heart be good SFP ‘(He) has hurt us, yet still told us that (he) is good-hearted.’ In (11), the speaker is reporting what was done and said by another person. The clause siǝm1 si4 ho3 e0 (literally meaning ‘the heart is good’) functions as an object of the verb kaŋ3 ‘say’, reporting what was said. This is a case of indirect quotation. To form a direct quotation, at least the first-person singular pronoun gua3 should occur before the noun siǝm1 ‘heart’ in the object clause. As with the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’, the addressee of the verb kaŋ3 ‘say’ is introduced by the preposition ka5, when it is overt in the main clause. The complementizer sǝʔ7 (derived from the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’) can be added after the verb kaŋ3 ‘say’. This is different from the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’, which cannot co-occur with its grammaticalized use in the form of complementizer sǝʔ7. This is also different from Taiwan Southern Min where kóng, as the main speech act verb of saying as mentioned above, can be used with the complementizer kóng.
Utterance verbs | 473
The object clause in (11) is a declarative clause. An example of interrogative use is given in (12). (12) VUTTERANCE + [sǝʔ7COMP + VP]COMPLEMENT CLAUSE 講 說 下日 卜 障 辦 kaŋ3-2 sǝʔ7-8 e4let8 boʔ7-8 tsiũ5-3 pan5 say COMP future want how do ‘(We) can talk about what (we) can do in the future.’ The context of (12) is that the speaker suggests that two families can get together and discuss what they can do in the future. This is a case of non-quotation. The clause ‘how it can be done in the future’ functions as an object of the verb kaŋ3 ‘say’, while sǝʔ7 functions as a complementizer. In this case, the complementizer khuã5 can also be used. Comparatively speaking, kaŋ3 with an object clause is less common than sǝʔ7 used with the same in daily conversations. The verb kaŋ3 in (11) and (12) can be substituted by the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’, if the complementizer sǝʔ7 is not present. The verb bŋ5 問 ‘ask’ is often followed by a quotation, as illustrated by (13) – (15). (13) NP + VUTTERANCE + [sǝʔ7COMP + NP + VP]COMPLEMENT CLAUSE 伊 問 說 “汝 底時 卜 倒來” i1 bŋ5-4 sǝʔ7-8 lɯ3 ti4si2 boʔ7-8 to5lai0 3SG ask COMP 2SG when want come.back ‘He asked, “When will you come back?”.’ (14) 伊 問 我 “汝 咧 創 啥” 1 5-4 3 3 7-8 5-3 i bŋ gua lɯ leʔ tshɔŋ siã2 3SG ask 1SG 2SG PROG do what ‘He asked, “What are you doing?”.’ (15) VUTTERANCE + [khuã5COMP + NP + VP]COMPLEMENT CLAUSE 問 看 汝 口 伫 底 呀 bŋ5-4 khuã5-3 lɯ3 tse5 ti4 to3 ia0 ask COMP 2SG now be.at where SFP ‘(He) asked where you are now.’ In (13), the speaker directly quotes what was said by the subject of the main clause (i1 ‘he’). The interrogative clause lɯ3 ti4si2 boʔ7-8 to5lai0 ‘when will you come
474 | Complement clauses
back’ functions as an object of the verb bŋ5 ‘ask’, and sǝʔ7 functions as a complementizer. As with (13), example (14) is also a case of direct quotation. As illustrated by this example, the addressee of the verb bŋ5 ‘ask’, gua3 ‘I’, is not introduced by the preposition ka5, but directly follows the verb bŋ5. This example also shows that a complementizer such as sǝʔ7 in (13) is not obligatory. The context of (15) is that the father is reporting to his daughter what was said by one of the classmates of his daughter. In other words, this is a case of indirect quotation. This example shows that the complementizer occurring with the verb bŋ5 can also be khuã5. Note also that, unlike the verbs sǝʔ7 ‘say’ and kaŋ3 ‘say’, the verb bŋ5 ‘ask’ is followed by an interrogative clause (rather than a declarative clause), predictable from its lexical meaning, as illustrated by (13) – (15).
24.3 Verbs of perception and cognition As mentioned above, verbs of perception and cognition that can take an object clause in Hui’an include khuã5 看 ‘look’, thiã1 聽 ‘listen to, hear’, kam3-2kak7 感覺 ‘feel’, siũ4 想 ‘think’, ai5 愛 ‘like’, kiã1 驚 ‘be afraid’, tsai1(iã3)知(影) ‘know’, e4ki5(let0) 會記(得) ‘remember’, and huat7-8hen5 發現 ‘find’. This type of verb describes a mental state or event. Unlike utterance verbs examined in §24.2, the subject of verbs of perception and cognition is usually an experiencer, rather than an agent. Among the verbs listed above, the most commonly used in daily conversations is the verb khuã5 ‘look’. This, however, does not mean that khuã5 as a visual perception verb is most often followed by an object clause. In fact, the verb khuã5 involves a series of non-perception meanings, some of which can take an object clause, as will be illustrated in the following. Note that this verb does not take a complementizer, including itself as a complementizer. Two examples of khuã5 as a visual perception verb followed by an object clause are given in (16) and (17). (16) 阮 昨日 去 看 𪜶 拍 球 3 4 8 5-3 5-3 1 7-8 gun tsa let khɯ khuã en phaʔ kiu2 1PL yesterday go look 3PL hit ball ‘Yesterday we went to watch them play ball.’ (17) 我 八 看 著 汝 穿 gua3 pat7-8 khuã5-3 tioʔ8-4 lɯ3 tshiŋ5 1SG EXP look PVC 2SG wear ‘I have seen you wearing (those clothes) before.’
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In (16), the clause en1 phaʔ7-8kiu2 ‘they play ball’ functions as an object of the verb khuã5 ‘look’. This example emphasizes the action of watching. In (17), the verb khuã5 ‘look’ is followed by the phase complement tioʔ8, indicating achievement of the action encoded by the verb khuã5. The clause lɯ3 tshiŋ5 ‘you wear (those clothes)’ functions as an object of the verb phrase khuã5-3 tioʔ8 ‘see’. Due to the use of the phase complement tioʔ8, example (17) emphasizes the achievement and result of the action encoded by the verb khuã5, rather than emphasizing the action itself. Examples of khuã5 as a non-perception verb are given in (18) and (19). (18) 啊 徛, 看 汝 厝 卜 泉州 買 0 4 5-3 3 5 7-8 2-4 1 khia khuã lɯ tshu boʔ tsuan tsiu bue3 a DM live look 2SG house want PN buy 抑 廈門 買 咯 aʔ8 e5-4bŋ2 bue3 lɔ0 or PN buy SFP ‘As for the residence, this depends on whether you want to buy a house in Quanzhou or Xiamen.’ (19) 伊 說 看 汝 過 得 蠻 辛苦 i1 sǝʔ7-8 khuã5-3 lɯ3 kǝ5 leʔ7-8 ban2-4 sen1khɔ3 3SG say look 2SG live CM rather hard ‘He says that he thinks you have a hard life.’ In (18), khia4 ‘live’ functions as a topic, and khuã5 (meaning approximately ‘depend on’ in this context) is the verb in the main clause. The complement clause lɯ3 tshu5 boʔ7-8 tsuan2-4tsiu1 bue3 aʔ8 e5-4bŋ2 bue3 ‘you want to buy a house in Quanzhou or Xiamen’ functions as an object of the verb khuã5 ‘depend on’. In (19), the clause khuã5-3 lɯ3 kǝ5 leʔ7-8 ban2-4 sen1khɔ3 ‘(he) thinks you have a hard life’ functions as an object of the utterance verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’, while the clause lɯ3 kǝ5 leʔ7-8 ban2-4 sen1khɔ3 ‘you have a hard life’ functions as an object of the verb khuã5 ‘think’. The use of the verb khuã5 in (19) can be regarded as an instance of indirect perception, with ‘look’ understood in its extended cognition sense of ‘consider’ or ‘judge’. Note that the subject of the verb khuã5 in (19) is covert, since it is co-referential with the subject of the verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’ (i.e. i1 ‘he’). Unlike the verb khuã5 ‘look’, the verb thiã1 聽 ‘listen to, hear’ with an object clause is not commonly used in daily conversation. In addition, the verb thiã1 is mainly used in the sense of immediate perception. An example is given (20),
476 | Complement clauses
where the clause laŋ4 tsiũ5-3 sǝʔ7 儂障說 ‘how other people say’ functions as an object of the verb thiã1 ‘listen to’. (20) 先 聽 儂 障 說 laŋ4 tsiũ5-3 sǝʔ7 suin1 thiã1 first listen.to other how say ‘first listen to what other people say’ In this example, the verb thiã1 can be followed by the complementzier khuã5, i.e. forming suin1 thiã1 khuã5 laŋ4 tsiũ5-3 sǝʔ7 先聽看儂障說. In general, this verb is not used with the complementizer sǝʔ7, since thiã1sǝʔ7 is a compound verb meaning ‘hear of’. The verb kam3-2kak7 感覺 ‘feel’ with an object clause can be illustrated by (21) – (23). (21) 我 感覺 即領 質量 𣍐 否 gua3 kam3-2kak7-8 tsit7-8-liã3 tset7-8liɔŋ5 bue4 phai3 1SG feel this-CL quality can.not bad ‘I think that this item (of clothing) is of good quality.’ (22) 伊 感覺 說 迄個 學堂 也佫 好 i1 kam3-2kak7-8 sǝʔ7-8 hit7-8-e2-4 oʔ8-4tŋ2 a4koʔ7-8 ho3 3SG feel COMP that-CL school fairly good ‘He thinks that that school is fairly good.’ (23) 恁 感覺 看 即垛 會挃得 𣍐 len3 kam3-2kak7-8 khuã5-3 tsit7-8-tǝ5 e4tiʔ8let0 bue0 2PL feel COMP this-CL OK SFP ‘Do you think this (table) is OK?’ In (21), the clause tsit7-8liã3 tset7-8liɔŋ5 bue4 phai3 ‘this item (of clothing) is of good quality’ functions as an object of the verb kam3-2kak7. In this case, the speaker describes her judgment about some clothes after touching them. This can be interpreted as the speaker expressing her opinion, which is associated with tactile perception in some way. In daily conversations, however, the verb kam3-2kak7 tends to be used to express an opinion, which bears no relation to tactile perception. For example, the verb kam3-2kak7 in (22) has nothing to do with tactile perception. This example also shows that the verb kam3-2kak7 can co-occur with the complementizer sǝʔ7, unlike the verbs khuã5 ‘look’ and thiã1 ‘listen to, hear’. As
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shown by example (23), the verb kam3-2kak7 followed by the complementizer khuã5 is acceptable, though it is uncommon in daily conversation, compared to the complementizer sǝʔ7. As with the verb khuã5 ‘look’, the verb siũ4 想 is also a polysemous word. The verb siũ4 can mean ‘think, think about’, as its basic sense, describing a mental activity. This use of siũ4 can take an object clause, as in (24). (24) 我 想 說 恁 呣知 會 來 𣍐 gua3 siũ4 sǝʔ7-8 len3 m5-4-tsai1 e4 lai2 bue0 1SG think COMP 2PL not-know can come SFP ‘I was wondering whether you would come.’ In (24), the clause len3 m5-4tsai1 e4 lai2 bue0 ‘whether you would come’ functions as an object of the verb siũ4 ‘think, think about’, indicating what the subject gua3 ‘I’ was thinking about. In addition, sǝʔ7 functions as a complementizer. The complementizer khuã5 can be used to substitute the complementizer sǝʔ7, though it is less natural than sǝʔ7. Other examples of the verb siũ4 with an object clause are given in (25) – (27). (25) 我 想 說 囝仔 已經 出門 gua3 siũ4 sǝʔ7-8 ken3-2a3 i3-2kiŋ1 tshut7-8-bŋ2 1SG think COMP child already out-door ‘I meant that the children are away from home.’
咯 lɔ0 SFP
(26) 我 想 說 票 好 拆 遘 gua3 siũ4 sǝʔ7-8 phio5 ho3-2 thiaʔ7 a3 1SG think COMP ticket good tear EVC ‘I thought that it was quite easy to get a ticket.’ (27) 阮 想 汝 倒來 gun3 siũ4 lɯ3-2 to5lai0 1PL think 2SG come.back ‘We hope you come back.’ The context of (25) is that the speaker explains that he prefers a simple wedding, due to the situation that the children are away from home. In other words, the verb siũ4 indicates the speaker’s thoughts on a particular situation or fact. In (26), the clause phio5 ho3-2 thiaʔ7 a3 ‘it is easy to get a ticket’ functions as an object of the verb siũ4. In this case, siũ4 is used by the speaker to express an opinion on
478 | Complement clauses
getting a ticket. In (27), the clause lɯ3-2 to5lai0 ‘you come back’ functions as an object of the verb siũ4. In this case, the verb siũ4 expresses the meaning of ‘hope, want’. Note that the verb siũ4 is typically followed by the complementizer sǝʔ7 when taking an object clause, as illustrated by (25) and (26), but can also occur without a complementizer, as in (27). The verb siũ4 in (24) – (27) is followed by a clause, while the following example shows that siũ4 can also be followed by a verb phrase such as m5-4 phɔ1 呣鋪 ‘not pave’. (28) 阮 想 說 呣 鋪 gun3 siũ4 sǝʔ7-8 m5-4 phɔ1 1PL think COMP not pave ‘We plan not to use (wooden floors).’ When followed by a verb phrase, the verb siũ4 often expresses the meaning of ‘plan to do something’. In this context, the complementizer sǝʔ7 can also added after the verb siũ4, as in (28). The verb siũ4 may also be followed by the phase complement tioʔ8 著, as in (29). (29) 想 著 說, 有影, 著 拾 口面 siũ4 tioʔ8-4 sǝʔ7-8 u4iã3 tioʔ8-4 khioʔ7-8 khau3-2ben2 think PVC COMP right should pick outside ‘(We) realized that it is true that (we) should choose (the house) that is close to the street.’ In (29), the verb siũ4 preceding the phase complement tioʔ8 combines to express the meaning of ‘realize’, while sǝʔ7 following the verb phrase siũ4 tioʔ8 ‘realize’ functions as its complementizer. The verb ai5 愛 ‘like’ is normally followed by a verb phrase such as tshiŋ5-4 tsit78 liã3 穿即領 ‘wear this piece (of clothing)’ in (30). Note that this verb usually does not co-occur with a complementizer. (30) 我 愛 穿 即領 gua3 ai5-3 tshiŋ5-4 tsit7-8-liã3 1SG like wear this-CL ‘I like wearing this piece (of clothing).’
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The verb kiã1 驚 means ‘be afraid’ and describes a mental state. An example of kiã1 with an object clause is given in (31). (31) 我 驚 迄領 無 夠 燒 gua3 kiã1 hit7-8-liã3 bo2-4 kau5-3 sio1 1SG be.afraid that-CL not.have enough Warm ‘I am afraid that piece (of clothing) is not warm enough.’ In (31), the clause hit7-8liã3 bo2-4 khau5-3 sio1 ‘that piece (of clothing) is not warm enough’ is the object clause of the verb kiã1 ‘be afraid’. As with the verb ai5 ‘like’, the verb kiã1 tends not to be followed by a complementizer. The verbs tsai1(iã3)知(影) ‘know’, e4ki5(let0)會記(得) ‘remember’ and huat78 hen5 發現 ‘find’ are all concerned with knowledge or acquisition of knowledge. The verb tsai1 ‘know’ can be used alone to take an object clause, as illustrated by (32). (32) 我 知 超市 咧 賣 gua3 tsai1 tshiau1tshi4 leʔ7-8 bue4 1SG know supermarket PROG sell ‘I know that the supermarket is selling (this).’ Comparatively speaking, the negative form of the verb tsai1, i.e. m5-4 tsai1 呣知 ‘not know’, is more often used with an object clause, as in (33) and (34). (33) 我 呣 知 伊 甚物 學堂 gua3 m5-4 tsai1 i1 siǝm3-2bĩʔ7-8 oʔ8-4tŋ2 1SG not know 3SG what school ‘I don’t know where he is studying.’ (34) 呣 知 好用 抑 否用 m5-4 tsai1 ho3-2-iŋ5 aʔ8-4 phai3-2-iŋ5 not know good-use or bad-use ‘(I) don’t know whether (it) is useful.’ As illustrated by these two examples, the object clause of m5-4 tsai1 ‘not know’ is typically an interrogative such as a constituent interrogative in (33) and an alternative interrogative in (34). The object clause of the verb tsai1 ‘know’ is often placed at the sentence-initial position, functioning as a topic, as in (35).
480 | Complement clauses
(35) 㑑搭 有, 汝 知 呣 lan3-taʔ7 u4 lɯ3 tsai1 m0 1PL-LOC have 2SG know SFP ‘Do you know that we have (this) at home?’ In (35), the clause lan3taʔ7 u4 ‘we have (this) at home’ occurs at the sentence-initial position, functioning as a topic. The comment in this type of topic-comment construction often takes the form of lɯ3 tsai1 m0 ‘do you know’, as in (35). The meaning of ‘know’ can also be encoded by the compound verb tsai1iã3 知 影. This compound verb and its negative form m5-4 tsai1iã3 呣知影 ‘not know’ often also take an object clause, as in (36) and (37). (36) 伊 知影 汝 倒來 i1 tsai1iã3 lɯ3 to5lai0 3SG know 2SG come.back ‘He knows that you have come back.’ (37) 我 也 呣 知影 伊 障 gua3 a4 m5-4 tsai1iã3 i1 tsiũ5-3 1SG also not know 3SG how ‘I also don’t know what he thinks.’
想 siũ4 think
In (36), the clause lɯ3 to5lai0 ‘you come back’ functions as an object of the verb tsai1iã3 ‘know’. In (37), the clause i1 tsiũ5-3 siũ4 ‘what does he think’ functions as an object of m5-4 tsai1iã3 ‘not know’. As with m5-4 tsai1 ‘not know’, the negative form m54 tsai1iã3 ‘not know’ is also often followed by an interrogative clause, as in (37). Note that the verb tsai1(iã3) and its negative form are usually not used with a complementizer. An example of the verb e4ki5 會記 ‘remember’ with an object clause is given in (38), where the verb e4ki5 is immediately followed by its object clause gua3 bue32 tsaŋ2-4 tshiŋ5 我買叢銃 ‘I buy a gun’. The complementizer sǝʔ7 may be added after the verb e4ki5. (38) 我 會記 我 買 叢 gua3 e4ki5-3 gua3 bue3-2 tsaŋ2-4 1SG remember 1SG buy CL ‘I remember that I bought a gun.’
銃 tshiŋ5 gun
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The preference for the object clause of e4ki5let0 會記得 ‘remember’ is to be placed in the sentence-initial position functioning as a topic, as in (39), where the clause a1sã1 liǝp8-4tshet7-8 hǝ5 阿三廿七歲 ‘Ah-San is twenty seven years old’ occurs in the sentence-initial position, functioning as a topic. (39) 阿三 廿七 歲, 伊 會記得 a1sã1 liǝp8-4-tshet7-8 hǝ5 i1 e4ki5let0 PN twenty-seven year 3SG remember ‘She remembers that Ah-San is twenty seven years old.’ The following is an example of the verb huat7-8hen5 發現 ‘find’ taking an object clause. (40) 我 發現 伊 無 來 gua3 huat7-8hen5-4 i1 bo2-4 lai2 1SG find 3SG not.have come ‘I found out that he didn’t come.’ In (40), the verb huat7-8hen5 is followed by the object clause 伊無來 ‘he didn’t come’. The complementizer sǝʔ7 can be inserted after the verb huat7-8hen5. Note however that this verb is not commonly used in daily conversation, and tends to be used by the younger generation.
24.4 Modal verbs of volition Modal verbs of volition that can take an object clause in Hui’an include boʔ7 卜, siu͂ 4boʔ7 想卜 and ai3 愛. This type of verb has an experiencer subject, and does not co-occur with a complementizer, as will be shown by the following examples. The verbs boʔ7 and siu͂ 4boʔ7 tend to be followed by a verb phrase, as in (41) and (42). (41) 我 卜 食 蘋果 gua3 boʔ7-8 tsiaʔ8-4 phiŋ2-4kɔ3 1SG want eat apple ‘I want to eat an apple.’
482 | Complement clauses
(42) 伊 想卜 買 第二垛 厝 i1 siu͂ 4boʔ7-8 bue3-2 te5-4-li5-4-tǝ5-3 tshu5 3SG want buy PREF-two-CL house ‘He wants to buy his second house.’ In (41), boʔ7 is followed by the verb phrase tsiaʔ8-4 phiŋ2-4kɔ3 ‘eat an apple’, indicating the subject’s intention to eat an apple. Similarly, siu͂ 4boʔ7 in (42) is followed by the verb phrase bue3-2 te5-4li5-4tǝ5-3 tshu5 ‘buy the second house’ to express the subject’s desire to buy his second house. In these two cases, the subject of the verb phrase in the complement clause is covert, since it is co-referential with the subject of the verbs boʔ7 and siu͂ 4boʔ7, i.e. gua3 ‘I’ in (41) and i1 ‘he’ in (42). As shown by the following two examples, the verb ai5 can be followed by either a verb phrase or a clause. (43) 伊 愛 與 儂 知 1 5-3 5-4 4 i ai khɔ laŋ tsai1 3SG want give other know ‘She wants other people to know (it).’ (44) 伊 愛 𪜶 小妹 倒來 i1 ai5-3 en1 sio3-2bǝ5 to5lai0 3SG want 3PL Y.sister come.back ‘She wants her younger sister to come back.’ In (43), ai5 is followed by the verb phrase khɔ5-4 laŋ4 tsai1 ‘let other people know’, indicating the subject’s desire to let other people know something. In this case, the subject of the verb phrase khɔ5-4 laŋ4 tsai1 is co-referential with the subject of the verb ai5, and is thus covert as in the two previous examples. Example (44), however, shows that ai5 can be followed by a clause such as en1 sio3-2bǝ5 to5lai0 ‘her younger sister comes back’, and the subject of the clause (en1 sio3-2bǝ5 ‘her younger sister’) is not co-referential with the subject of the verb ai5 (i1 ‘she’).
24.5 Causative (or manipulative) verbs Causative (or manipulative) verbs that can take an object clause in Hui’an include khɔ5 與 ‘give, let’, kio5 叫 ‘call, ask’ and tshiã3 請 ‘invite, hire’, among which, khɔ5 ‘give’ is the most common one. As with verbs of volition mentioned in the preceding section, causative verbs also do not co-occur with a complementizer. Unlike verbs of volition, however, causative verbs generally require an agent subject,
Summary | 483
rather than an experiencer subject. In addition, this type of verb tends to be followed by a clause, whose subject is not co-referential with the subject of the main clause. Examples are given in (45) – (47). (45) 與 爸仔 坐 迄搭 khɔ5-4 pa2-a0 tsǝ4 hit7-8-taʔ7 give father-NM sit that-LOC ‘Let father sit there.’ (46) 汝 叫 伊 過來 lɯ3 kio5-3 i1 kǝ5lai0 2SG call 3SG come.over ‘Ask him to come over.’ (47) 伊 請 別儂 做 1 3-2 8-4 2 i tshiã pat -laŋ tsue5 3SG hire other-person do ‘He hired other people to do (it).’
24.6 Summary This chapter has examined complement clauses in Hui’an, which typically function as an object of the main clause, i.e. constitute object clauses. Complementtaking verbs in Hui’an fall into four main semantic types: (a) utterance verbs such as sǝʔ7 說 ‘say’; (b) verbs of perception and cognition such as khuã5 看 ‘look’, thiã1 聽 ‘listen to, hear’ and kam3-2kak7 感覺 ‘feel’; (c) modal verbs of volition such as boʔ7 卜 ‘want’; and (d) causative verbs such as khɔ5 與 ‘give’. Complement clauses of utterance verbs and some perception and cognition verbs (e.g. kam3-2kak7 ‘feel’ and siũ4 ‘think’) can be marked by the complementizer sǝʔ7 (< ‘say’) and/or khuã5 看 (< ‘look’). The complementizer khuã5 is typically used to introduce an interrogative complement clause and used in the context which inquires about something or looks for an answer. Note also that the utterance verb sǝʔ7 ‘say’ cannot co-occur with its grammaticalized use in the form of complementizer sǝʔ7.
25 Conclusion This volume has presented a detailed description of the Hui’an dialect, a variety of Southern Min spoken in the Hui’an County, in Fujian province of China. The description is given within the framework of linguistic typology, mainly based on data collected via naturally occurring conversation. Besides the Introduction (chapter 1), a brief overview of phonology (chapter 2), and this concluding chapter, the grammar is presented in four parts: nominal structure (part I), predicate structure (part II), clause structure (part III) and complex sentences (part IV). Part I has examined the following six aspects of nominal structure: affixation and compounding, pronouns, nominal demonstratives, numerals and quantifiers, classifiers, and possessive constructions. Part II has focused on reduplication, verb complement constructions, aspect, modality, negation, adpositions and adverbs. Reduplication is included in the part on predicate structure, since it constitutes an important aspect of verbal morphology in the Hui’an dialect. In Part III, we have discussed the ka>7-construction and the ka5-construction, comparative constructions of inequality, the ‘give’ construction, interrogatives, and topiccomment constructions. A description of four types of complex sentence, that is, coordination, relative clauses, adverbial clauses and complement clauses, is given in Part IV. Though our description shows that the Hui’an dialect shares much in common with other Southern Min varieties in Fujian and Taiwan, especially the Quanzhou variety, differences are also identified in our grammar. More significantly, this volume sheds some new and important light on the grammar of Southern Min, especially those varieties in Fujian, by examining in depth a series of topics, including those that have not yet attracted sufficient attention, such as possessive constructions, topic-comment constructions, relative clauses, and complement clauses. Our findings also show, in general, that the Hui’an dialect, on the one hand, preserves some conservative features, and on the other hand, reflects influence from Mandarin Chinese.
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-025
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Index adposition – agent 274, 275, 280 – basis 262, 278 – benefactive 275, 276, 280, 297, 298, 299, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 309, 310, 311, 74 – comitative 276, 277, 280, 297, 299, 300, 301, 306, 311, 444, 77 – goal 262, 268, 269, 270, 280, 297, 298, 299, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 308, 311 – instrument 267, 278, 279, 280 – location 262, 263, 264, 265, 268, 269, 280 – patient 224, 270, 271, 272, 273, 279, 280, 297, 298, 299, 304, 305, 306, 307 – perlative 269, 280 – source 262, 264, 266, 267, 269, 270, 273, 278, 280, 297, 298, 299, 301, 302, 305, 306, 308, 311 – standard of comparison 277, 278, 444, 66 adverbial clauses – cause clauses 457 – conditional clauses 460, 464, 465, 466 – purpose clauses 459 – time clauses 451, 461, 466 adverbs 454, 455 – adverbs of quantity and scope 288 – attitude and epistemic adverbs 238, 240, 241, 242, 293 – degree adverbs 283, 294, 126 – manner adverbs 282, 294 – time adverbs 287, 294 affixation – prefix 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 37, 120 – suffix 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37 aspect – durative 215, 222, 224, 225, 228 – experiential 215, 226, 227, 228, 248 – habitual 215, 222, 225, 226, 228 – perfective 215, 216, 218, 219, 220, 222, 228 – progressive 215, 222, 223, 224, 225, 228, 263
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-027
causative constructions 344, 345, 483 classifiers 368, 370, 376, 378, 395, 420, 426, 428, 30, 31, 43, 46, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 76, 79, 80, 81, 83, 84, 87, 94, 97, 98, 103, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117, 124, 127, 129, 130, 134, 135, 137, 139, 140, 141, 142, 160, 169, 177 comparative constructions of inequality – absolute comparatives 321, 322, 324, 337 – comparatives with the marker khɯ5 316, 332 – dependent-marking comparatives with pi3 336 – double-marking/hybridized comparatives 322, 337 – head-marking comparatives with khaʔ7 277, 322 – zero-marked comparatives 332, 337 complement clauses – causative (or manipulative) verbs 468, 483 – modal verbs of volition 468, 482 – utterance verbs 378, 383, 468 – verbs of perception and cognition 467, 475, 484 coordination – adversative coordination 407, 414, 415 – conjunction 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 415 – disjunction 407, 413, 415 demonstratives 327, 332, 364, 365, 376, 403, 419, 420, 422, 424, 427, 428, 429, 431, 447, 449, 469, 120, 122, 123, 124, 138, 142 – basic adnominal demonstratives 64 – generic demonstratives 63, 81, 86 – plural demonstratives 76, 80, 81 – singular demonstratives 73 'give' constructions – (permissive) causative verb 274, 343, 348 – concessive marker 339, 347, 348 – dative marker 274, 339, 341, 342, 348
512 | Index
– ditransitive verb 339, 340, 341, 343, 348 – perspective marker 339, 340, 341, 348 – purposive marker 339, 345, 348 – speaker-affectedness marker 274, 339, 346, 348 Hui’an dialect – location 3 – previous studies 7 interrogatives 469, 470, 471, 474 – alternative interrogatives 349, 350, 355, 372, 413, 480 – constituent interrogatives 363, 480 – polar interrogatives 349, 351, 354, 355, 357, 359, 360 modality – ability 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 241 – epistemic possibility 230, 231, 233, 237, 238, 241, 251, 293 – necessity 229, 230, 239, 240, 241, 242, 293 – non-deontic possibility 230, 231, 236, 241 – permission 229, 230, 231, 233, 237, 241, 251, 256 – possibility 229, 230, 231, 234, 235, 236, 237, 241, 359 – root possibility 230, 231, 234, 235, 236, 241, 251, 256 – volition 229, 230, 240, 241, 242, 244, 245 negation – ‘lack of necessity’ negatives 244, 259 – general and volitional negatives 243, 244 – general prohibitive 244, 259 – imminent negative 259 – injunctive negative 244, 258, 259, 260 – irrealis negative 244, 259 – perfective negative 244, 251, 252, 255, 259 numerals 28, 30, 31, 43, 46, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 83, 84, 98, 101, 103, 105, 106, 115, 117, 120 – approximate numbers 110 – cardinal numbers 101 – ordinal numbers 106, 116
object marking constructions 270, 271, 273, 280, 297, 306, 307, 312, 125 passive constructions 346 phoneme inventory 11, 13 possessive constructions – attributive possessive construction 146, 147, 163, 164, 165 – predicative possessive construction 146, 163, 164, 165, 166 pronoun – demonstrative pronouns 39, 40, 59, 60, 62 – interrogative pronouns 349, 363, 364, 366, 367, 369, 371, 372, 60 – 'other, other people' 39, 56 – personal pronouns 469, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 53, 56 – reciprocal pronouns 39, 56 – reflexive pronouns 432, 39, 50, 51, 56 quantifiers 101, 114, 115, 117, 121 reduplication 282, 25, 169, 171, 172, 173, 176 relative clauses 456, 40, 66, 67, 74, 75, 78, 83, 124, 138 – ‘aboutness’ relative clauses 441, 442, 444, 449 – adjunct relative clauses 439, 442, 449 – argument relative clauses 439, 440, 442, 445, 449 – light-headed relatives 421, 447, 450 – position of the head noun 419, 433, 448 – relativization markers 419, 420, 424, 425, 428, 429, 447, 449 tone system 15, 16, 18 topic-comment constructions – clause topic 381, 393, 400, 403 – contrastive function of topic 402 – coreferential argument topic 381, 384 – coreferential pseudo-argument topic 384 – forms of topics 376 – frame-setting topic 381, 385, 386, 387, 388, 389, 390, 403 – identical topic 390 – patient topicalization 375, 397, 398, 400, 402
Index | 513
– position of topic 383, 395 – split argument topic 394 – topic marker 400 verb complement construction – directional verb complement construction 179, 182, 189, 190, 211 – potential verb complement construction 180, 197, 199, 208, 209, 210, 211, 213
– resultative verb complement construction 179, 197, 198, 199, 202, 208, 212, 252, 399 – verb-extent complement construction 180, 205, 206 – verb-manner complement construction 179, 202, 203, 205, 213 – verb-phase complement construction 179 – verb-quantitative complement construction 180
Appendix Story 北風 合 日頭 pak7-8huaŋ1 kaʔ7-8 let8-4thau2 The North Wind and the Sun 有 蜀 日, 北風 合 日頭 u4 tsit8-4 let8 pak7-8-huaŋ1 kaʔ7-8 let8-4thau2 have one day north-wind and sun 為 啥儂 其 本領 恰 大 相諍。 ui5-4 siã3-2-laŋ2 e2-4 pun3-2liŋ3 khaʔ7-8 tua5 sa1tsĩ5 for what-person GEN capability comparatively big RECP-argue ‘One day, the North Wind and the Sun had a quarrel about which of them was the stronger.’ 拄好 路咧 有 蜀 個 儂 咧 行。 tu3-2ho3 lɔ5-leʔ0 u4 tsit8-4 e2-4 laŋ2 leʔ8-4 kiã2 just road-LOC have one CL person PROG walk ‘Just then, a person was walking along the road.’ 日頭 共 北風 說 “㑑 來 比 者, 8-4 2 5-4 7-8 1 7 3 2-4 3 let thau ka pak -huaŋ sǝʔ lan lai pi tse0 Sun to north-wind say 1PL come compare DELIM 看 (啥儂) 有法嗵 將 即個 儂 其 衫 khuã5-3 siaŋ2 u4huat7-8-thaŋ1 tsiɔŋ1 tsit7-8e2-4 laŋ2 e2-4 sã1 look who have.method-can OM this-CL person GEN clothes 褪 落來。” thŋ5 loʔ0lai0 take.off come.down ‘The Sun talked to the North Wind, ‘Let’s see who can make the person take off his coat’.’ 北風 說 “好勢, 與 我 先 來。” 7-8 1 7-8 3-2 5 5-4 3 1 pak -huaŋ sǝʔ ho se khɔ gua suin lai2 north-wind Say good give 1SG first come ‘The North Wind said, ‘OK, let me try first’.’
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501511868-028
516 | Appendix
北風 吸 蜀 口 氣 口 出去。 pak7-8-huaŋ1 khiǝp7-8 tsit8-4 khau3-2 khi5 pun2 tshut0khɯ0 north-wind inhale one mouth air blow go.out ‘The North Wind took a breath and blew it out.’ 迄個 儂 無 褪 衫, hit7-8-e2-4 laŋ2 bo2-4 thŋ5-3 sã1 that-CL Person not.have take.off clothes 反而 將 衫 裹 得 佫恰 口。 huan3-2li2-4 tsiɔŋ1 sã1 kɔ3-2 leʔ7-8 koʔ7-8khaʔ7-8 an2 Instead OM clothes Wrap CM even.more tight ‘That person did not take off his coat, but wrapped it more closely around himself instead.’ 北風 氣 遘, 出 全力 口 蜀 下。 7-8 1 5-3 3 7-8 2-4 8 2 8-4 pak -huaŋ khi a tshut tsuan -lat pun tsit e5 north-wind angry EVC Use full-force blow one time ‘The North Wind was so angry that he used all his strength to blow.’ 迄個 儂 寒 遘, 將 衫 裹 遘 佫恰 口。 hit7-8-e2-4 laŋ2 kuã2 a3 tsiɔŋ1 sã1 kɔ3-2 a5-3 koʔ7-8khaʔ7-8 an2 that-CL person cold EVC OM clothes wrap CM even.more tight ‘That person was so cold that he held his coat much more tightly around himself.’ 日頭 說 “啊 即陣 著 看 我 咯。” let8-4thau2 sǝʔ7 a0 tsit7-8tsun5 tioʔ8-4 khuã5-3 gua3 lɔ0 Sun say DM this.time should look 1SG SFP ‘The sun said, ‘Now, let me have a try’.’ 拄 說 了, 日頭 出力 燿 者。 tu3-2 sǝʔ7-8 liau3 let8-4thau2 tshut7-8-lat8 tshio5 tse0 just say finish sun use-force shine DELIM ‘No sooner had the sun finished what he said than he used his strength to shine.’ 迄個 儂 感覺 燒晴 起來, 將 紐 褪 捒。 7-8 2-4 2 3-2 7-8 1 4 0 0 1 3 5-3 hit -e laŋ kam kak sio tsin khi lai tsiɔŋ liu thŋ sak7 that-CL person feel warm PVC OM button take.off RVC ‘That person felt warm and unbuttoned his coat.’
Conversations I | 517
日頭 佫 出 蜀 個 力。 let8-4thau2 koʔ7 tshut7-8 tsit8-4 e2-4 lat8 Sun again use one CL force ‘The sun used his strength (to shine) again.’ 迄個 儂 熱 遘 規身 大汗, hit7-8-e2-4 laŋ2 luaʔ8 a5-3 kui1-sen1 tua5-4-kuã5 that-CL person hot CM whole-body big-sweat 將 外衫 褪 捒。 tsiɔŋ1 gua5-4-sã1 thŋ5-3 sak7 OM outside-clothes take.off RVC ‘That person was hot and sweaty, and so took off his coat.’ 北風 對 日頭 其 本領 誠 欽佩。 pak7-8-huaŋ1 tui5-3 let8-4thau2 e2-4 pun3-2liŋ3 tsiã2-4 khiǝm1phue5 north-wind for sun GEN capability rather admire ‘The North Wind admired the capability of the Sun.’ 日頭 說 “其實 㑑 兩 個 8-4 2 7 2-4 8 3 4 let thau sǝʔ ki set lan lŋ e2 sun say in.fact 1PL two CL 汝 有 汝 其 本事, 我 有 我 其 本事。” lɯ3 u4 lɯ3 e2-4 pun3-2sɯ5 gua3 u4 gua3 e2-4 pun3-2sɯ5 2SG have 2SG GEN capability 1SG have 1SG GEN capability ‘The Sun said, ‘Actually, we both have our own capabilities.’’
Conversations I Context: This conversation covers various topics, beginning with a banana joke, followed by an inquiry about the need to make a call to a friend, and then talking about what happened the night before and in the morning, which is interrupted by someone else’s coming in. A: 食 弓蕉 哦, 家己 食 哦, 8-4 1 1 0 5-4 5 8 tsiaʔ kiŋ tsio o kai ki tsiaʔ o0 eat banana SFP self eat SFP 啊 無 與 別儂 食 啊 a0 bo2-4 khɔ5-4 pat8-4-laŋ2 tsiaʔ8 a0 DM not.have give other-person eat SFP
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‘(You are) eating a banana, but (you are) eating (it) by (your)self, you didn’t give (it) to anyone else to eat.’ B:
想 說 醃臢, 呣 敢 與 儂 食, siũ4 sǝʔ7-8 a1 tsam1 m5-4 kã3-2 khɔ5-4 laŋ4 tsiaʔ8 think COMP Dirty Not dare give other eat 家 食 kai5-4 tsiaʔ8 Self Eat ‘(I) thought that (it) was dirty. (I) dared not give (it) to anyone else to eat, and that’s why (I’m) eating (it) by myself.’
A:
啊 汝 著 共 美麗 拍 電話 呣? a0 lɯ3 tioʔ8-4 ka5-4 bi3-2le5 phaʔ7-8 ten5-4ue5 m0 DM 2SG need to PN hit telephone SFP ‘Do you need to call Bi-le?’
C:
呣免 m5-4ben3 no.need ‘No.’
A:
呣免 啊 5-4 3 m ben a0 no.need SFP ‘No?’
A:
伊 昨暝 合 我 說話…… i1 tsa4bĩ2 kaʔ7-8 gua3 sǝʔ7-8-ue5 3SG last.night COM 1SG say-word ‘She talked with me last night…’ 倒來 咯? (扌罪) 無 啊? to5lai0 lɔ0 tshǝ5-4 bo2 a0 come.back SFP look.for not.have SFP ‘(You) came back? (You) didn’t find (it)?’
D:
(扌罪) 無 tshǝ5-4 bo2 look.for not.have
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‘(I) didn’t find (it).’ A:
伊 昨暝 合 我 說話, 1 4 2 7-8 3 i tsa bĩ kaʔ gua sǝʔ7-8-ue5 3SG last.night COM 1SG say-word 說 遘 我 最後 睏 去。 sǝʔ7-8 a5-3 gua3 tsue5-3au4 khun5 khɯ0 say CM 1SG last sleep PVC ‘She talked with me last night until I fell asleep.’ 啊 睏睏睏, 佫 聽 著 伊 咧 說話, a0 khun5khun5khun5 koʔ7-8 thiã1 tioʔ8-4 i1 leʔ8-4 sǝʔ7-8-ue5 DM sleep~sleep~sleep again listen PVC 3SG PROG say-word 佫 醒 (起來), 醒 (起來) 也 呣 知 koʔ7-8 tshĩ3 khai0 tshĩ3 khai0 a4 m5-4 tsai1 still wake.up PVC wake.up PVC also not know 伊 咧 講 啥 i1 leʔ8-4 kaŋ3-2 siã2 3SG PROG Say what ‘Then I heard that she was talking and woke up, but I didn’t know what she was talking about even though I was awake. ’
B:
口 愛睏 去 咯 siã2 ai5-3khun5 khɯ0 lɔ0 then Sleep PVC SFP ‘Then (you) got sleepy.’
A:
老儂 咯 4 2 lau -laŋ lɔ0 old-person SFP ‘I am already old.’
A:
驚儂, 老儂 咯。 kiã1laŋ0 lau4-laŋ2 lɔ0 frightened old-person SFP ‘It’s terrible. I am already old.’ 阿三 儂 也 三十 幾 歲, 卜 四十 a1sã1 laŋ4 a4 sã1tsap8-4 kui3-2 hǝ5 boʔ7-8 si5-3tsap8-4 PN other also Thirty several year FUT forty ‘Ah-San is in his thirties, and is going to be forty years old.’
歲 Hǝ year
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M: 阿三 伫咧? a1sã1 tɯ4leʔ0 PN be.at ‘Was Ah-San there?’ A:
無 伫 2-4 bo tɯ4 not.have be.at ‘(He) was not there.’
Conversations II Context: Three persons are mainly talking about an item of clothing, whose owner originally planned to keep, only for killing a duck the next day. A: 迄領 換 來 換, hit7-8-liã3 uã5 lai2-4 uã5 that-CL change come change 迄領 手䘼 換 捒, 驚儂 遘 hit7-8-liã3 tshiu3-2-ŋ3 uã5-4 sak7 kiã1laŋ2-4 a3 that-CL hand-sleeve Change RVC frightened EVC 迄領 口…… hit7-8-liã3 siã2 that-CL then 反正 汝 即領 都 卜 呣 挃 3-2 5 3 7-8 3 1 7-8 5-4 huan tsiŋ lɯ tsit -liã tɔ boʔ m tiʔ8 anyway 2SG this-CL already want not want ‘Come and change that item (of clothing). Change that item (of clothing). (It looks) terrible. That item (of clothing) then… Anyway you don’t want this item (of clothing) anymore.’ B:
驚儂, 驚儂 kiã1laŋ0 kiã1laŋ0 frightened frightened ‘Terrible, terrible.’
C:
底 蜀 領 呣 挃 啊? 3-2 8-4 3 5-4 8 to tsit liã m tiʔ a0 which one CL not Want SFP
Conversations II | 521
‘Which one doesn’t (he) want?’ A:
即領 伊 卜 呣 挃 呀 7-8 3 1 7-8 5-4 8 tsit -liã i boʔ m tiʔ ia0 this-CL 3SG Want Not want SFP ‘He doesn’t want this one (item of clothing).’
C:
即領 呣 挃 啊? tsit7-8-liã3 m5-4 tiʔ8 a0 this-CL not want SFP ‘(He) doesn’t want these clothes?’
A:
口 口 咧 口面, siã2 hio4 leʔ7-8 khau3-2ben2 just place at Outside 明日 嗵 刣 鴨。 biã2-4let8 thaŋ1 thai2-4 aʔ7 tomorrow can kill Duck 明日 汝 說 卜 刣 抑 呣免 刣 啊 2-4 8 3 7-8 7-8 2 8-4 5-4 3-2 2biã let lɯ sǝʔ boʔ thai aʔ m ben thai a0 tomorrow 2SG say want Kill Or no.need kill SFP ‘Just put (it) outside. (You) can kill the duck (wearing it) tomorrow. Do you think we shall kill the duck tomorrow or not?’
B:
明日 刣 捒 哦。 biã2-4let8 thai2-4 sak7 o0 tomorrow kill RVC SFP 抑 卜 遘 年兜日 則 刣 啊? aʔ8-4 boʔ7-8 kau5-3 lin2-4tau1let8 tsiaʔ7-8 thai2 a0 or want arrive New Year’s Eve Then kill SFP 下 遘 臭臭臭 4 khe a5-3 tshau5-1~tshau5-4~tshau5 put CM smelly~smelly~smelly ‘Let’s kill (the duck) tomorrow. Or wait until the New Year’s Eve to kill (it)? (It) would smell bad (if we) keep (it).’
A:
下 遘 臭臭臭 khe4 a5-3 tshau5-1~tshau5-4~tshau5 put CM smelly~smelly~smelly
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‘(It) would smell bad (if we) keep (it).’ B:
刣 捒 共 口 者。 2-4 7 5-1 2 thai sak ka kun tse0 kill RVC OM Cook DELIM 啊 蜀 身 衫褲 嗵 換, a0 tsit8-4 sen1 sã1khɔ5 thaŋ1 uã5 DM one MW clothes can change 嗵 洗洗 者 thaŋ1 sue3-2~sue3 tse0 can wash~wash DELIM ‘Kill and cook (it), then the clothes can be changed and given a wash.’